Oyo State governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, on Wednesday, performed the ground-breaking ceremony for the upgrading of the Samuel Ladoke Akintola Airport, Alakia, Ibadan, to international standard, noting that the project, when completed, would connect the state to the global market.
The governor maintained that the upgraded airport would also improve the ease of doing business, bring in investments in agribusiness, manufacturing and technology sectors and position Ibadan as a true regional business hub.
Governor Makinde stated this at the airport in Alakia, during the groundbreaking ceremony for the upgrade of the facility to an international airport, noting the project had been awarded to Messrs Craneburg at the cost of N41 billion.
He promised to do everything possible to ensure that the project was delivered in the next 12 months.
This was as the governor assured residents of the state that the Presumptive Tax Law recently passed by the Oyo State House of Assembly would not be implemented at this time due to the general hardship facing the people, stating that his government will only fight poverty and not poor people.
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He said: “We took an important decision yesterday at the Executive Council Meeting. We know times are hard and Nigerians are hungry and angry. But I hope this will not boil over. But in Oyo State, we have control over what we can do here. I can see that the House has passed the Presumptive Tax Bill. Yes, it came from us because if we need to expand economy, we need to generate money. I will sign it into law but we will not implement it for now.”
He said his administration would only promote policies that would leave money in the pockets of the people of Oyo State so that they could spend same on areas important to them.
While stressing that his government would not do anything to deliberately hurt the people, Makinde said the government had paid due compensation to land owners in Ajia, who lost their property to the new Air Force Base being constructed in the area.
According to the governor, the decision to upgrade the airport was taken based on data and logic, adding that it was a strategic investment that included a first and second phase that would culminate into the upgrading of the airport, the runway, airfield lighting, terminal and other critical facilities.
The governor listed MRO and cargo facilities as some of the features the upgraded airport would parade, describing the project as a strategic investment that would be delivered on time and within budget.
