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Oyo State Governor and Allied Peoples Movement (APM) presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde, has rejected a claim by Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, that President Bola Tinubu provided ₦50 billion for the upgrade of the Ibadan airport.
Makinde described the claim as false on Tuesday while speaking at the APM North-West town hall in Katsina, a political engagement ahead of the 2027 general election.
Wike had made the claim on Monday during an appearance on TVC’s Journalists’ Hangout, while responding to suggestions that he was the only member of the former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) G5 governors benefiting from the Tinubu administration.
“President Tinubu provided ₦50 billion to support Oyo Governor Seyi Makinde’s plan to upgrade Oyo Airport into an international airport. So, it’s not correct to say I’m the only G5 governor benefiting from Tinubu’s government,” Wike said.
Makinde, however, directly disputed the minister’s account, insisting that the state government was responsible for funding the airport project.
“My attention was called to an interview granted yesterday by the minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike, where he said that the president gave ₦50 billion to Oyo state or to me to upgrade the airport in Ibadan to international standards,” Makinde said.
“I want to say that claim is false. The president did not give ₦50 billion to me or to Oyo state to upgrade the Ibadan airport. The airport upgrade project is being undertaken 100 per cent with the money of Oyo state.”
Makinde had flagged off the upgrade of the Samuel Ladoke Akintola Airport in September 2024 at an initial cost of ₦41 billion.
The domestic terminal was completed in October 2025, while work on the international terminal, including customs and immigration facilities, remains ongoing.
The disagreement comes against the backdrop of the changing political relationship between the two men.
Wike and Makinde were among the five PDP governors who opposed aspects of the party’s 2023 presidential campaign and declined to support Atiku Abubakar.
Wike subsequently joined the Tinubu administration as FCT minister in August 2023, while Makinde has since emerged as the presidential candidate of the APM for the 2027 election.
Their political positions have increasingly diverged, particularly over Wike’s support for Tinubu’s re-election bid.
For now, the two politicians have given conflicting accounts of whether the Federal Government provided ₦50 billion towards the Ibadan airport upgrade, with Makinde maintaining that Oyo State alone is financing the project.
