‎Ibadan Airport: Makinde Denies Wike’s ₦50bn Claim, Says Oyo Funded Project

Oyo State Governor and Presidential Candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Seyi Makinde, has dismissed a claim by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, that the Federal Government provided ₦50 billion to the state for the upgrade of the Ibadan International Airport.

‎Wike had, while appearing on TVC’s Journalists’ Hangout on Monday, claimed that President Bola Tinubu’s administration gave Makinde ₦50 billion to support the upgrade of the Ladoke Akintola International Airport, Ibadan.

‎However, speaking at the Makinde/Daura 2027 Presidential Town Hall meeting in Katsina on Tuesday, Makinde described the claim as false, insisting that the airport project was being financed entirely by the Oyo State Government.

‎Makinde said he was responding to Wike’s claim after his attention was drawn to the minister’s television interview.

‎He stated that neither he nor the Oyo State Government received ₦50 billion from the Federal Government for the airport project.

“The President did not give me or Oyo State N50 billion to upgrade the Ibadan Airport. The Ibadan Airport upgrade project is being undertaken 100 per cent with the funds of Oyo State,” Makinde said.

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‎The governor said the ongoing expansion of the airport was a state-funded initiative aimed at upgrading the facility to international standards.

‎The controversy follows Wike’s assertion that the Tinubu administration had supported Makinde with ₦50 billion for the airport project, a claim that the Oyo governor has now publicly rejected.

The upgrade of the Samuel Ladoke Akintola Airport includes the construction of a new terminal as part of efforts by the Oyo State Government to transform the facility into an international aviation gateway.