Excitement as FG approves  upgrade of Ibadan Airport to international status

By Stephen Gbadamosi

There has been a gale of excitement among the people of Oyo State, as the state governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, disclosed on Wednesday that his administration’s efforts to have the Ibadan Airport, Alakia, upgraded to an international airport have yielded positive results.

He said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had approved the upgrade of the facility.

The governor maintained that the upgrade would commence in the next three weeks.

The project, according to the governor, would include the construction of a new terminal, runway and other structural features, adding that it would be handled by experts and delivered to standard.

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Governor Makinde made this known when he received the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Baba Abubakar, at the Executive Chamber, Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan.

According to a statement by his Special Adviser (Media), Sulaimon Olanrewaju, Governor Makinde said his administration had spent the last five years turning around the state’s economy and had identified the need for the upgrade of the Ibadan Airport as being central to its economic expansion agenda.

He added that his government’s resolve to build infrastructure that targeted the economic expansion agenda had also seen it investing resources on the 110-kilometre Ibadan Circular Road, stating that the administration would consider the Air Force’s request for land for its post-retirement housing scheme on the Circular Road corridor.

He said: “Since I came into office, this administration has focused on education, agriculture, health and expansion of our economy.

“We have been talking to the Presidency and we got a response from them early this week that the President has graciously approved my request for Ibadan Airport to be upgraded.

“I will be in Abuja soon to get the documents relating to the approval. And within three weeks, we will start the project. We will expand the runway and build a new terminal.”

The governor, who appreciated the Chief of Staff for his officers’ effort in working with sister security agencies to secure Oyo State, urged that the cordial relationship between the Force and the people of the state be maintained.

According to the governor, the Air Force had been a major contributor to maintenance of internal security in Oyo State, as its personnel had been working closely with Operation Burst.

He equally noted that his administration had remained committed to working with the Air Force to deliver the Air Force Base in Ajia, Ibadan, stating that his promise of a speedy completion of the road that led to the  base would be kept.

He also explained that the government was fixing several roads along the Air Force Base axis that would facilitate easy movement of personnel and equipment, noting that the Ajia- – Airport Road, with spur to Amuloko, the Amuloko – Dagbolu – Ijebu Igbo Roads were among the roads being attended to around the axis.

Earlier in his speech, Air Marshal Abubakar described the governor as a visionary leader, thanking him for his support to the Air Force.

He acknowledged the governor’s focus on economic development and enhancing security in the state, noting that the acquisition of 60 hectares of land for the Air Force Base at Ajia and the provision of security operational vehicles were commendable efforts of the governor. 

Abubakar, however, urged the governor to expedite action on the ongoing 10-kilometre Ajia – Airport Road, so as to ease movement of his Force’s activities, assuring that the Force would continue to support the state and also build on the mutual relationship with the state.