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 programme 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.
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