Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has challenged the Federal Government over the inclusion of the ongoing 110-kilometre Ibadan Circular Road in an advertorial highlighting projects attributed to the Federal Government.

Makinde raised the issue in a disclaimer posted on his official campaign X account on Friday after he said he came across two pages of an advertorial published in The Punch. The material listed projects from across Nigeria and included the Ibadan Circular Road, describing it as a “state-led” project.

The governor disputed that description, insisting that the project is being executed entirely by the Oyo State Government without financial or other intervention from the Federal Government.

Makinde said the Federal Government should therefore not present the road as one of its achievements.

The 110km project, officially known as the Senator Rashidi Ladoja Circular Road, is one of the major infrastructure projects being developed by the Oyo State Government. State government records identify the road as a key part of its infrastructure programme, while earlier documentation shows that the project itself predates the Makinde administration and has passed through several administrations.

The project was originally conceived in the 2000s and subsequently redesigned and revived under different administrations. Oyo State records say the Makinde administration inherited the project at an early stage and took forward its construction in phases.

The current 110km route is designed to provide an alternative connection around Ibadan, linking major transport corridors and surrounding local government areas while creating opportunities for development along the route. The project comprises several sections, including the South-East, North-East, North-West and South-West segments.

In his reaction to the Federal Government advertorial, Makinde also referred to an earlier disagreement over the upgrade of the Samuel Ladoke Akintola Airport in Ibadan.

The governor alleged that the Federal Government had similarly attempted to take credit for that project, which he maintained was being undertaken by the Oyo State Government.

Makinde specifically criticised FCT Minister Nyesom Wike over a reported claim concerning ₦50 billion allegedly provided by the Federal Government for the airport upgrade. The governor rejected that claim and said the airport project was also being financed and executed by his administration.

Those assertions are part of an ongoing political dispute between the Oyo State Government and some Federal Government officials. They should not be treated as independently established facts without documentary evidence from both sides.

The dispute over the Circular Road comes as work continues on the project. In August 2026, Oyo State Acting Governor Bayo Lawal inspected the second phase and said about 32 kilometres of the dual carriageway had been completed and asphalted, with streetlights and toll facilities installed.

The project has also generated issues concerning residents and property owners along the route. In April 2026, the state government announced a reverification exercise for property owners who had not been included in earlier compensation processes. The government had also approved ₦5.8 billion in additional compensation for affected property owners.

For the Makinde administration, the Circular Road is being positioned as more than a transport project. Government documents describe it as infrastructure intended to improve connectivity, support economic activity and open up new development corridors around Ibadan.

The latest disagreement, however, has shifted attention from the project's infrastructure benefits to the question of who should receive credit for its implementation.

Makinde maintains that the Federal Government should stop describing the Circular Road as one of its achievements. The Federal Government's advertorial, as described by the governor, referred to it as “state-led,” leaving the political dispute centred largely on the interpretation and presentation of the project's ownership and implementation.

Reporting by TalkNaijaMedia