FG Pays N18bn to 2,700 Ex-Nigeria Airways Workers

The Federal Government has commenced 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 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 already received their benefits, while another 600 beneficiaries in batches eight and nine had been cleared for payment.

He said the payment followed a directive by President Bola Tinubu to resolve the long-standing obligation to the former workers.

The minister said many beneficiaries had grown old while waiting for their entitlements, while some had died, leaving their families to pursue the outstanding payments.

According to him, the payments followed extensive verification, including biometric capture and validation of personal and banking information, to prevent fraudulent claims.

Oyedele said further verification would be conducted to resolve cases involving outdated information, incorrect bank details and deceased beneficiaries whose next of kin or estates were required to complete the necessary processes.

He explained that the government was settling the obligations based on documented and verified amounts, with no inflation adjustment despite the more than two-decade delay.

The minister said payments were being made in batches to ensure that verified beneficiaries did not continue waiting while outstanding claims were validated.

He added that the benefits covered different categories of former Nigeria Airways employees, without distinction between junior and senior workers.

Oyedele also disclosed that the Federal Government had paid outstanding obligations to more than 12,000 indigenous contractors, initially prioritising smaller contractors owed N50 million or less before extending payments to verified claims of up to N100 million.

He warned contractors against paying commissions or inducements to government officials to facilitate payment of verified claims, describing such demands as illegal.

The minister apologised to the former Nigeria Airways workers for the prolonged delay, stressing that the payments were their legitimate entitlements and not favours from the government.