FG approves N5bn compensation for defunct Nigeria Airways workers

The Federal Government has approved a compensation amounting to N5billion for workers of defunct Nigeria Airways.

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, made this disclosure on the sideline of a stakeholders forum in Lagos, confirming the government’s intention to clear the last tranche of monies owed to the ex-workers.

The payment initiative was initiated by the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA) in 2019. Approximately N5 billion has been allocated for this purpose, benefiting around 1,000 former Nigeria Airways employees.

While specific financial details were not disclosed by Keyamo, he assured that the federal government has taken the matter seriously, and the ex-workers will soon receive the remaining portion of their severance pay.

Nigerian Airways ceased its operations in 2003 following years of continuous struggles and aircraft fleet depletion. The one-time final payment to ex-employees, both domestic and overseas, had been pending until 2018 when the Federal Government, under former President Muhammadu Buhari, approved N22.68 billion for retirement benefits, representing approximately 50 percent of the total N45.3 billion entitlements for the former employees.

Originally, the ex-workers had submitted a claim of N78 billion as their retirement entitlement. However, this amount was revised following a verification exercise conducted by PICA and other stakeholders, aligning with the liquidated Nigerian Airways Ltd.’s service conditions. The agreed sum of N45 billion was then designated as the total retirement benefits for the affected staff. Due to financial constraints, the payments were disbursed in two phases, with the first batch receiving their payments in 2019.