Key points
- Wike said on TVC’s Journalists’ Hangout that the Tinubu administration gave Oyo N50 billion for the Ibadan International Airport upgrade; Makinde called the claim false at a town hall in Katsina.
- Makinde’s aide Sulaimon Olanrewaju said Tinubu’s minute on the proposal read “Approved at no cost to the Federal Government,” and no FEC decision or presidential approval backs Wike’s figure.
- At the same event, Makinde called for mining to be devolved to states and criticized Tinubu for not transmitting power to the vice president while on leave.
Oyo State Gov. Seyi Makinde has accused Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory, of lying about a supposed N50 billion federal contribution to the upgrade of Ibadan International Airport, insisting the state is paying for the project on its own.
Wike made the claim on TVC’s Journalists’ Hangout on Monday, saying President Bola Tinubu’s administration had supported Oyo with N50 billion for the airport.
The dispute lands amid a widening rift between Makinde, who is running for president on the Allied People’s Movement ticket in 2027, and the Tinubu government.
Speaking at the Makinde/Daura 2027 presidential town hall in Katsina on Tuesday, the governor said the claim was simply untrue.
“The President did not give Oyo State N50bn or me to upgrade the Ibadan Airport,” he said. “The Ibadan Airport upgrade project is being undertaken 100 per cent with the funds of Oyo State.”
What the records show, according to Oyo
His media aide, Sulaimon Olanrewaju, went further in a statement, describing Wike’s assertion as false, reckless and misleading.
According to Olanrewaju, Tinubu’s minute on the proposal Makinde submitted read “Approved at no cost to the Federal Government,” and those records sit with both the Presidency and the state.
Moreover, he said the figure does not stem from any Federal Executive Council decision, presidential approval or statutory aviation infrastructure process.
Aviation funding runs through traceable channels involving the Federal Ministry of Aviation, he argued, and none of them reflects N50 billion.
The state says it has financed every component so far, including runway expansion and strengthening, upgraded airfield lighting and navigation systems, apron improvements, the dualized Airport Road, enhanced safety installations and an international terminal still under construction.
Olanrewaju said Wike should have checked the facts before going on air, calling the claim “a fabrication and a lie from the pit of hell.”
Wike has not responded to the rebuttal.
Mining, power transmission and the “reset” pitch
Beyond the airport row, Makinde used the Katsina event to argue that mining should move off the Exclusive Legislative List and into state hands, with only oversight retained federally. States, he said, “will do better.”
He also criticized Tinubu for proceeding on working leave without transmitting power to the vice president under Section 145 of the Constitution.
As Oyo governor, Makinde said, he has always handed over to his deputy when abroad for more than 21 days, and he promised to do the same as president.
His “Reset Agenda” targets the economy, education and security. Consequently, he framed the 2027 contest as “APC versus Nigerians” rather than a contest among opposition parties.
Running mate Lawal Daura and APM chairman Yusuf Dantalle echoed the theme, with further town halls planned for Uyo, Lafia and Enugu.