Oyo State Governor and presidential candidate of the Alliance for Progressives Movement (APM), Seyi Makinde, has denied receiving N50 billion from President Bola Tinubu for the upgrade of the Ibadan airport.
Makinde described the claim as false. He spoke on Tuesday at the Makinde/Daura 2027 Presidential Town Hall meeting in Katsina. According to him, the Oyo State Government fully funded the airport project.
The controversy followed comments by Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike. Wike made the claim on Monday during an appearance on TVC’s Journalists’ Hangout. He said the Tinubu administration supported Oyo State with N50 billion for the airport project.
However, Makinde rejected the claim during the Northwest Consultative Meeting in Katsina.
Makinde said his attention went to Wike’s interview and the claim about the airport funding. He insisted that neither he nor Oyo State received the money from the Federal Government.
“I want to say that the claim is false,” Makinde said.
He added,
“The President did not give me or Oyo State N50 billion to upgrade the Ibadan Airport.”
Meanwhile, Makinde maintained that Oyo State funded the airport upgrade without federal funding.
“The Ibadan Airport upgrade project is undertaken 100 per cent with the funds of Oyo State,” he said.
The dispute now puts the funding of the Ladoke Akintola International Airport upgrade in the spotlight. Both statements point to different accounts of how the project received funding.
