The 2027 presidential candidate of the Allied People’s Movement and Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has accused the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, of lying about the alleged N50bn funding from the Federal Government for the upgrade of the Ibadan International Airport.
Wike, while appearing on TVC’s Journalists’ Hangout program on Monday, had claimed that the President Bola Tinubu-led administration supported the Oyo State Government with N50bn for the airport project.
The disagreement over the airport funding comes amid an increasingly strained political relationship between Makinde and the Tinubu administration, with the governor and members of the Federal Government backing opposing political interests ahead of the 2027 elections.
Makinde, while addressing supporters at the Makinde/Daura 2027 presidential town hall meeting in Katsina on Tuesday, said the Oyo State Government did not receive any N50bn from the Federal Government for the expansion of the airport.
He asserted that the project was being fully funded by the state government.
Makinde stated, “Let me start by saying that my attention was drawn to an interview granted yesterday by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, where he said that the President gave N50bn to Oyo State to upgrade the Ibadan Airport to international standards.
“I want to say that claim is false. The President did not give Oyo State N50 bn or me to upgrade the Ibadan Airport. The Ibadan Airport upgrade project is being undertaken 100 per cent with the funds of Oyo State.”
Reiterating the governor’s position, his media aide, Dr. Sulaimon Olanrewaju, in a statement, described Wike’s claim on the airport project as false, reckless, and misleading.
Olanrewaju said there was no such N50bn approval on the project from the federal government to the state government, adding that the state rejected misinformation on the premise of scoring cheap political points.
Olanrewaju argued, “President Bola Tinubu’s minute on the proposal submitted to him by Governor Seyi Makinde for the reconstruction and upgrade of the Ibadan airport was ‘approved at no cost to the Federal Government.’
“The records as stated above are with the Presidency just as they are with the Oyo State Government.
“Wike’s assertion does not originate from any Federal Executive Council decision, presidential approval, or statutory aviation infrastructure process.
“It is not an official communication of the Federal Government. It is not backed by documentation. It is not grounded in fact. It is a claim made without responsibility and without regard for the truth and should therefore be disregarded by members of the public.”
He maintained that every component of the upgrade has so far been executed and funded solely by Oyo State.
Olanrewaju added, “In line with the approval granted by the Federal Government, which clearly stated that the airport upgrade would be undertaken at no cost to the Federal Government, the Oyo State Government has fully financed a comprehensive transformation of the facility.
