Oyo State Governor and Presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement, Seyi Makinde, has denied receiving ₦50bn from the Federal Government for the upgrade of the Ladoke Akintola International Airport, Ibadan.
Makinde described as false the claim that President Bola Tinubu’s administration provided the money to support the airport project, insisting that the state government was solely responsible for financing the ongoing upgrade.
The governor spoke on Tuesday while addressing supporters and stakeholders at the Makinde/Daura 2027 Presidential Town Hall meeting in Katsina.
His response followed comments by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who, during an appearance on TVC’s Journalists’ Hangout on Monday, said the Federal Government had supported the Oyo State Government with ₦50bn for the airport project.
Makinde said he was compelled to respond to the claim after his attention was drawn to Wike’s statement, stressing that no such funds were received from the Federal Government.
“I want to say that claim is false. The President did not give me or Oyo State N50 billion to upgrade the Ibadan Airport,” the governor said.
According to him, the state government has been financing the airport upgrade with its own resources and did not rely on the alleged Federal Government allocation.
“The Ibadan Airport upgrade project is being undertaken 100 per cent with the funds of Oyo State,” Makinde stated.
The governor made the remarks during the Northwest Consultative Meeting, where he said he had met with the presidential candidate, stakeholders and supporters as part of engagements ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The disagreement between Makinde and Wike centres on the source of funding for the airport upgrade, with the Oyo governor maintaining that the project was undertaken entirely with state funds.
