Osun APC Demands Explanation Over Alleged N130bn Airport Project Cost

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State has raised concerns over the reported N130 billion cost of the airport project in Ede, the hometown of Governor Ademola Adeleke.

In a statement issued by its Governorship Campaign Council, the opposition party described the reported increase in the project’s contract sum from N99.5 billion to about N130 billion as “criminal.”

The APC questioned the rationale behind the reported upward review of the contract and called on the Adeleke administration to provide a detailed account of the expenditure.

The party also expressed concern over reports that a substantial portion of the revised contract sum had already been paid.

According to the APC, the reported cost of the airport project exceeds the combined 2025 budgetary allocations to key sectors of the state’s economy.

It added that the continued non-publication of the project’s financial records had fuelled public suspicion over the management of state resources.

“The recent allegations concerning the Ede Airport project, that Sowie Tee is owned by a close associate of Dr Deji Adeleke, the governor’s elder brother, and that the project is a conduit pipe to steal Osun money, further underscore why the state government should immediately make these financial records available for public examination,” the statement read.

The APC said if the administration had nothing to hide, it should publish all relevant financial documents, including a comprehensive breakdown of payments made on the airport project, its stage of execution and the basis for the reported variation in the contract cost.

The party further alleged that the state government’s handling of the project had reinforced concerns contained in what it described as a security report suggesting that the airport project could be used to finance vote-buying ahead of the forthcoming governorship election.

“The hide-and-seek posturing of the state government regarding its financials gives troubling credence to the security report at our disposal that Governor Adeleke is bent on the white elephant project in Ede because his government is relying on the project fund for vote buying during the forthcoming governorship election,” the statement added.