2,700 Former Employees to Receive Outstanding Entitlements More Than 20 Years After Airline’s Liquidation
The Federal Government has commenced the payment of ₦18 billion in outstanding severance benefits to 2,700 former workers of the defunct Nigeria Airways, more than two decades after the national carrier was liquidated.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed this on Friday during a press briefing at the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja.
Oyedele said 2,100 former workers in batches one to seven had been paid, while another 600 beneficiaries in batches eight and nine had been cleared for payment.
He said the payments followed President Bola Tinubu’s directive to resolve the long-standing obligation, adding that some former workers had died while waiting for their entitlements, leaving their families to pursue the claims.
“We recognise that no payment today can fully compensate for more than two decades of waiting,” Oyedele said, adding that the government considered it necessary to resolve inherited obligations rather than allow them to linger.
The minister said the beneficiaries were verified through processes including biometric capture and validation of personal and banking information to prevent fraudulent claims.
He added that further verification would be conducted for cases involving outdated information, incorrect bank details and deceased beneficiaries whose next of kin or estates must complete the required processes.
Oyedele said the government was paying the documented and verified amounts without inflation adjustments, acknowledging that inflation had substantially reduced their value over the past two decades.
He said the payments covered former workers across different categories and that deceased beneficiaries’ entitlements would be paid to their documented next of kin or other eligible beneficiaries after the necessary legal procedures.
Oyedele also disclosed that the government had paid outstanding obligations to more than 12,000 indigenous contractors, with smaller claims prioritised.
He said the government was also working to prevent a fresh accumulation of unpaid obligations by making budgets more realistic and ensuring that capital commitments are backed by identifiable funding sources.
The minister apologised to former Nigeria Airways workers for the prolonged delay, stressing that the payments were their entitlements and not favours from the government.