The Federal Government has commenced the payment of N18 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 in Abuja while briefing journalists.
Oyedele said 2,100 former workers covered by batches one to seven had already received their payments, while another 600 beneficiaries in batches eight and nine had been cleared for payment.
“Altogether, this represents N18billion in benefits for 2,700 former workers,” he said.
The minister noted that many of the affected former employees had spent more than two decades waiting for their entitlements, with some growing old and others passing away before receiving their benefits.
“For more than two decades, following the liquidation of Nigeria Airways, many former employees have waited for their outstanding severance benefits. Some have grown old waiting. Some have sadly passed away, leaving their families to pursue what was legitimately due to them,” Oyedele said.
According to the minister, the payment followed a directive from President Bola Tinubu to address the long-standing obligation owed to the former workers.
Oyedele acknowledged that the settlement could not make up for the lengthy period beneficiaries had waited, but said the government was determined to resolve inherited obligations instead of allowing them to remain outstanding.
“We recognise that no payment today can fully compensate for more than two decades of waiting, but it is important that government confronts these long-standing obligations rather than allowing them to remain unresolved for another generation,” he added.
He explained that the payment was part of the Federal Government’s wider effort to clear verified inherited obligations, including outstanding liabilities to pensioners and indigenous contractors.
Oyedele also cautioned contractors against offering commissions or inducements to government officials in exchange for the payment of verified claims, describing such demands as illegal.
Source: Federal Government
