The Oyo State Government has indicated an interest in taking over the management of the Ibadan Airport, noting that the facility was in need of an upgrade.
This was disclosed by the Governor of the state, Seyi Makinde, at the Joint National Assembly Committee on Aviation, stating that the airport could stand as an alternative to the Murtala Muhammed
Airport, Lagos.
Explaining the importance of running the affairs of the Ibadan Airport, Makinde said that the airport was in need of expansion.
Concerning the funding of the project, the governor said that finance would come through a public-private partnership (PPP).
He said, “You can see the calibre of people here today. This tells us how important the issue of Ibadan Airport is to us. The airport, ideally, should be the alternate airport to Lagos. So, we think if Ibadan is fixed properly, it will take away all those headaches of having to go to Ghana.
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“We are thinking of how to take over the airport because the model is not to use the state’s funds per se, but to do a public-private partnership, where the state will join up with experts in the field and people with investable money, and we will take over that airport; do all the expansion and see if we can turn it into an international airport.”
Remarking on the issue was the Kogi West Senatorial District representative, Senator Smart Adeyemi, who chaired the event, said that the airport’s runway was in need of attention.
He said, “We equally observed that there is need for extension of the runway to meet up with international standards; again, the runway is calling for attention.
“So, our coming here today is an eye-opener to some of the situations that require urgent attention.
“As the legislature our duty is to call the attention of the executive to areas where they need to provide funding on one hand.
“Our duty is to make sure that we allow the executive to see areas where there is need for them to provide funding.”
