Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has denied receiving ₦50 billion from President Bola Tinubu or the Federal Government for the upgrade of the Samuel Ladoke Akintola Airport in Ibadan.
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Makinde described the allegation made by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, as false, insisting that the project was being financed entirely by the Oyo State Government.
The governor responded on Tuesday during a North-West town hall meeting held in Katsina State.
Wike had claimed on Monday, during an appearance on TVC’s Journalists’ Hangout, that the Tinubu administration gave Makinde ₦50 billion to support the reconstruction and expansion of the Ibadan airport.
The FCT minister further linked the alleged financial intervention to Makinde’s political disposition during the 2023 presidential election.
Makinde was among the five former and serving Peoples Democratic Party governors known as the G-5, who opposed the presidential ambition of the PDP candidate, Atiku Abubakar, following disagreements over the leadership structure of the party.
Wike claimed that Makinde approached Tinubu concerning the proposed upgrade of the airport and that the President approved the request and provided financial support.
Reacting, however, Makinde said no such payment was received by his administration.
“My attention was called to Wike’s interview yesterday, where he said President Tinubu gave ₦50 billion to Oyo State to upgrade the airport to an international airport,” Makinde said.
“It’s all a lie. I did not receive any money for the airport upgrade. The upgrade of the airport is being undertaken 100 per cent from the Oyo State Government’s pocket.”
Makinde’s denial distinguishes the Federal Government’s regulatory approval for the conversion of the airport to international status from the alleged release of ₦50 billion for the project.
In June 2024, Makinde announced that President Tinubu had approved Oyo State’s request to upgrade the Ibadan airport from a domestic facility to an international airport.
The approval enabled the state government to proceed with the project, but the announcement at the time did not state that the Federal Government had released ₦50 billion for its execution.
The state government formally commenced the upgrade on September 18, 2024, after awarding the project to Craneburg Construction Company at an announced cost of ₦41 billion.
The first phase covered the extension and improvement of the runway, airfield lighting, fire services and other facilities required to accommodate larger aircraft and support extended flight operations.
The second phase included the construction of an international terminal designed to accommodate at least one million passengers annually.
Available Oyo State budget records also show appropriations for the airport project. The state’s 2025 Citizens’ Budget included about ₦22 billion for the rehabilitation and upgrade of the airport alongside an inland dry port, cargo airport and free-trade-zone initiatives.
Earlier funding arrangements predate the current disagreement. In 2021, the Oyo State Government sought a ₦50 billion supplementary budget for three infrastructure projects: the Ibadan Circular Road, the Iseyin–Ogbomoso Road and improvements at the Ibadan airport.
Only ₦10 billion of that supplementary provision was earmarked for the airport, while the entire ₦50 billion was expected to be sourced through the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Differentiated Cash Reserve Requirement framework.
That earlier arrangement was neither a ₦50 billion airport grant from President Tinubu nor part of the airport contract awarded in 2024.
The available public records support the position that the Oyo State Government awarded and budgeted for the airport upgrade. They do not, however, independently establish whether an additional off-budget or intergovernmental transfer was later made.
Neither Wike nor the Federal Government has publicly produced a payment record, appropriation document or other documentary evidence supporting the claim that ₦50 billion was released to Makinde for the airport.
The Presidency has also not issued a public response to the conflicting accounts from Wike and Makinde.
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