Ibadan Airport upgrade to international standard for completion 2025 – Makinde

The Oyo state governor, Seyi Makinde, on Sunday said the ongoing upgrade of Ibadan Airport into an International standard will be completed this year. Speaking at the annual thanksgiving service held at the Rehoboth Cathedral, Victory Land Complex, Oluyole Extension, Ibadan, Governor Makinde said on its completion, the airport will be competing with the Murtala Mohamed International Airport, in Lagos as well as others of its kind in Nigeria. Gov Makinde added that the completion of the upgrade of the facilities at the airport remains his topmost priority in 2025 as he will not be deterred with the spate of criticism on the injection of state funds on the project.

He said the upgrading of Ibadan project, when completed, would attract more investment as well as jerk up the monthly Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state. “I would like to say thank you to the church for remembering the administration every time in your prayers. Because it is a tough environment.



If not for the prayers, for the intercessions, we wouldn’t have been able to make some of this progress that you see and say, well, you have a government. “You have been a source of joy and inspiration to us as an administration for this past almost six years now. When we started, not up to seven months, Covid-19 hit town.

It was an uncharted territory we had to manage through. “And with prayers and words of encouragement from the church and also several other lovers of this administration, God has sustained us up until this moment. So, please don’t relent.

2025, we’re in this together. “And one of the major projects that we know we will deliver this year, that is very much after my heart, is the Ibadan airport, to upgrade it into international standards. Some people have said, oh no, it’s a project that is not viable.

Why are we spending money on it? There are airports in Nigeria that are not viable. “And they will also tell me that Ibadan is very close to Lagos. Yes, that is true.

But Ibadan airport should have been an alternative airport to Lagos from day one. When we came in, there was no aviation full storage or dispensing facility at Ibadan airport. How would it be viable if planes cannot come and refuel in this place? Airplanes will drop people’s luggages in Abuja because they have to carry enough fuel to bring them to Ibadan and take them back to Abuja.

So, how will the airport be viable? So, now, we put aviation fuel storage and dispensing facility in there. “And yesterday, I saw with my eyes an airplane being refueled at our airport in Ibadan. So, we’ve removed one of the obstacles that is making the airport not to be viable.

We’re also extending the runway. If you have a runway that cannot take more than a Boeing 737, we’re extending it. A 787 will land in Ibadan airport shortly.

“We made a terminal that is only good for maybe 100,000 people yearly. How will it be viable? So we’re building a new terminal that can take 1 million passengers yearly through that airport. And if you’re flying from London to Lagos, which we almost always do, what you actually do is that you fly 17 minutes into Lagos past Ibadan, and then you now use two hours to come back here through the road.

If you don’t have to do that, if they can just drop you here 20 minutes before they will get to Lagos, who will go to Lagos? “So Ibadan airport, with what we’re doing, it will be viable and it will compete favorably with Lagos. Please keep supporting us. That project, the airstrip, will be delivered this year.

The terminal will be delivered first quarter of next year. We have deployed the resources. It’s your money.

It’s your state money.” Speaking further, the governor stated that some of the goals of his administration in 2025 included the circular road, saying, “I also have the circular road. The first segment, 32 kilometers from Technical University to Badeku, will be delivered this year.

So please continue to pray for us. Continue to support this administration.” Bishop Taiwo Adelakun, tasked the people to continue to support government through prayers so it can continue to deliver more dividends of democracy and good governance.

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