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By Abdullahi Inuwa
Oyo State Governor and 2027 presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Seyi Makinde, has rejected a claim by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, that the Federal Government released N50 billion to Oyo State for the upgrade of the Ibadan International Airport.
Makinde described the claim as false, insisting that the ongoing transformation of the Ladoke Akintola International Airport, Ibadan, was being financed entirely by the Oyo State Government.
The governor made the clarification on Tuesday while addressing supporters and stakeholders at the Makinde/Daura 2027 Presidential Town Hall Meeting in Katsina.
The controversy followed comments made by Wike during an appearance on TVC’s Journalists’ Hangout programme on Monday, where the FCT minister said the administration of President Bola Tinubu had supported Oyo State with N50 billion for the airport project.
Makinde, however, strongly disputed the claim, saying neither he nor the Oyo State Government received the money from the Federal Government.
According to him, the airport upgrade is a state-funded project, with Oyo bearing the financial responsibility for its execution.
“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 Ibadan Airport upgrade project is being undertaken 100 per cent with the funds of Oyo State,” Makinde said.
The governor said he decided to address the issue at the Katsina meeting after his attention was drawn to Wike’s television interview.
Makinde’s response has opened a fresh political dispute over the financing of one of Oyo State’s major infrastructure projects, coming at a time when political alignments ahead of the 2027 general elections are becoming increasingly pronounced.
The disagreement is particularly notable because both Makinde and Wike were previously members of the Peoples Democratic Party’s G5 governors’ bloc, which played a significant role in the political landscape surrounding the 2023 elections.
Makinde has since emerged as the APM’s presidential candidate, while Wike remains a serving minister in the Tinubu administration.
Beyond the political dimension, the immediate issue at the centre of the dispute is whether the Federal Government provided N50 billion to Oyo State for the airport reconstruction and upgrade.
In a further response to the controversy, Makinde’s media aide, Dr Sulaimon Olanrewaju, also rejected Wike’s claim, saying there was no N50 billion Federal Government approval for the project. Punch reported that Olanrewaju referred to President Tinubu’s minute on the proposal submitted by Makinde as stating that the project was “approved at no cost to the Federal Government.”
The statement, if accurate, would place the two sides’ accounts of the project’s financing in direct opposition: Wike says the Federal Government supported the airport project with N50 billion, while Makinde maintains that Oyo State has financed the upgrade from its own resources.
The Ibadan airport project has remained one of the major infrastructure initiatives of the Makinde administration, with the state government seeking to expand the facility and position it for international operations.
Makinde’s latest comments therefore turn the airport into more than an infrastructure debate, as the conflicting claims have now become part of the wider political exchanges ahead of the 2027 elections.
For now, neither side’s competing account has been independently reconciled in the reports reviewed, leaving the N50 billion funding claim at the heart of the dispute.
Makinde, however, was unequivocal in his position in Katsina: Oyo State did not receive the N50 billion from the Federal Government, and the airport upgrade, he maintained, is being funded by the state.
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