The Oyo State Government has dismissed as false a claim by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, that the Federal Government gave the state N50 billion for the reconstruction and upgrade of the Ibadan Airport.
The state government said the Federal Government’s approval for the project expressly stipulated that the upgrade would be carried out at no cost to the Federal Government, with the entire project financed by the Oyo State Government.
The clarification was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by the Special Adviser to Governor Seyi Makinde on Media, Dr Sulaimon Olanrewaju, in response to comments reportedly made by Wike on a television programme on Monday.
According to Olanrewaju, the records relating to the project were available to both the Presidency and the Oyo State Government, adding that President Bola Tinubu had, in his minute on the proposal submitted by Makinde, approved the project on the condition that it would be undertaken at no cost to the Federal Government.
He said, “Approved at no cost to the Federal Government” was the President’s minute on the proposal submitted to him by Governor Seyi Makinde for the reconstruction and upgrade of the Ibadan Airport.
Olanrewaju said the state government had subsequently financed what he described as a comprehensive transformation of the airport in line with the Federal Government’s approval.
He listed the components of the project to include the expansion and strengthening of the runway, upgrading of airfield lighting and navigational systems, improvements to the airport apron, construction of supporting infrastructure, including the dualisation of the Airport Road, enhanced aviation safety installations and ongoing construction of a modern international terminal.
According to him, the upgrade was designed to significantly increase the airport’s passenger and cargo-handling capacity and improve its overall operational capability.
“Every component of the upgrade has been executed and funded solely by Oyo State,” he said.
The governor’s media aide described Wike’s claim as “untrue and unfortunate”, arguing that the FCT minister ought to have sought clarification before making the statement publicly.
Olanrewaju further said Wike’s assertion was not traceable to any Federal Executive Council decision, presidential approval or statutory aviation infrastructure process.
“It is not an official communication of the Federal Government. It is not backed by documentation. It is not grounded in fact,” he said.
He maintained that aviation infrastructure funding was subject to due-process channels involving the relevant federal authorities, including the Federal Ministry of Aviation and other regulatory agencies.
“These channels are transparent, traceable, and publicly verifiable. None of them reflects the figure Mr Wike has circulated,” Olanrewaju added.
The statement accused the FCT minister of making a claim capable of creating a false impression about the financing of the airport project and said the Oyo Government would not allow what it described as misinformation to be used for political point-scoring.
“The Oyo State Government will not allow misinformation, especially one of this magnitude, to be weaponised for political point-scoring or used to distort public understanding of government finances,” he said.
Olanrewaju stressed that the state government remained committed to transparency and accountability, urging public officials to exercise restraint and ensure that public statements were supported by verifiable facts.
“Let it be stated unambiguously: The Federal Government did not give Oyo State ₦50 billion for the Ibadan Airport upgrade. Any suggestion to the contrary is a fabrication and a lie from the pit of hell,” he said.
He urged members of the public to disregard the claim and called on public officials to refrain from making statements that could misinform citizens or politicise development projects.