MAKINDE DENIES RECEIVING N50BN FROM FG FOR IBADAN AIRPORT UPGRADE

Oyo State Governor and Allied Peoples Movement presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde, has rejected claims that the Federal Government provided N50bn to the state for the upgrade of the Ladoke Akintola International Airport in Ibadan. Makinde said the airport project was being financed entirely by the Oyo State Government, disputing a statement made by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, during a television programme.

Wike had claimed that the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government supported Oyo State with N50bn for the airport upgrade. Responding to the claim while addressing supporters and stakeholders at the Makinde/Daura 2027 Presidential Town Hall meeting in Katsina on Tuesday, Makinde said neither he nor the Oyo State Government received the alleged amount from the President. He maintained that the state had undertaken the airport expansion using its own resources.

Makinde’s media aide, Sulaimon Olanrewaju, also dismissed the claim, saying there was no N50bn approval from the Federal Government for the airport project. He said President Tinubu’s response to the proposal submitted by Makinde for the reconstruction and upgrade of the airport was that the project had been approved at no cost to the Federal Government. Olanrewaju added that the relevant records were available to both the Presidency and the Oyo State Government.

According to the governor’s aide, the state has funded several aspects of the airport transformation, including the expansion and strengthening of the runway, improvements to airfield lighting and navigation systems, apron upgrades and enhanced aviation safety infrastructure. He also listed the dualisation of the Airport Road and the construction of a modern international terminal among the projects being undertaken to increase the airport’s capacity for passengers and cargo.

The disagreement over the airport funding comes amid political differences between Makinde and members of the Federal Government as the 2027 elections approach. At the Katsina meeting, Makinde also called for mining responsibilities to be devolved to state governments, arguing that states should have greater control over the sector while the Federal Government retains oversight. His campaign organisation said the Katsina meeting was the first in a planned series of zonal town hall meetings across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.