Nigerian Airways retirees appeal to Tinubu for pension restoration
By Esther Agbo
Retirees from the now-defunct Nigeria Airways have formally requested President Bola Tinubu to reinstate them into the Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS), aligning their pension benefits with those of other sectors.
In a letter endorsed by Stephen Onuh and Ahmed Sulugambari, the Chairman and Vice Chairman respectively, and addressed to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, the retirees outlined their appeal.
The letter argued that re-enrollment in the DBS would ensure they receive pensions comparable to other retired civil servants.
Operating under the banner of the Airways Retired Workers of Nigeria, the retirees highlighted that until the airline’s dissolution in 2004 under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, they were participants in the scheme. They contended that their removal from the DBS post-liquidation was contentious.
The petition emphasised that, contrary to expectations, the pensioners were not fully compensated and should receive payments for life. The group includes those who retired before and those affected by the 2004 liquidation.
“The N45 billion paid to our members were part-payment of our accumulated pension arrears for over 10 years. We were on the monthly pension payroll before the liquidation in September 2004.
”In pursuance to make sure that the pensioners are paid monthly pension, relevant government authorities have made interventions, directing that the pensioners be pay-rolled into the monthly pension scheme of the Federal Government,” the petition read.
It further mentioned that governmental bodies have previously intervened to ensure monthly pension payments for these retirees.
The Senate conducted a public hearing on pension matters in 2012, subsequently resolving that the retirees should be immediately added to the Federal Government’s monthly pension scheme. Additionally, in 2013, the House of Representatives urged the government to integrate these retirees into the monthly pension payroll.
However, the group claims this directive has been ignored by the authorities.
