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 yesterday during a press briefing in Abuja, saying the payment was part of efforts by the Bola Tinubu administration to settle inherited obligations.
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 N18bn in benefits for 2,700 former workers,” the minister said.
He said the prolonged delay had taken a heavy toll on some of the beneficiaries, noting that many former employees had grown old while waiting for their entitlements, while others died before receiving what was due to them.
“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 him, President Tinubu directed the government to resolve the long-standing obligation and ensure that the former workers and their families no longer remained in limbo.
Oyedele acknowledged that the payments could not fully compensate the beneficiaries for more than 20 years of waiting, but said government had a responsibility to confront inherited debts instead of allowing them to continue accumulating.
“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 said.
The minister explained that the payments followed extensive verification exercises involving biometric capture and validation of beneficiaries’ personal and bank details.
He said further verification would be carried out in cases involving outdated information, wrong bank details and deceased beneficiaries whose next of kin or estates were required to complete the necessary legal processes.
Responding to questions on whether the payments had been adjusted to reflect inflation over the past two decades, Oyedele said government was settling the amounts contained in the documented and verified claims.
He admitted that inflation had significantly eroded the value of the money over the years but said there was no provision for inflationary adjustment in the settlement.
The minister said the payments were being made in batches to ensure that beneficiaries whose claims had been verified did not continue waiting while other outstanding cases were being resolved.
He added that the exercise covered former Nigeria Airways workers across different cadres, with no distinction between junior and senior employees.
For workers who died before receiving their benefits, Oyedele said payment would be made to their documented next of kin or estates after completion of the required legal procedures.
FG clears contractors’ debts
Oyedele also disclosed that the Federal Government had paid outstanding debts owed to more than 12,000 indigenous contractors, as part of measures to clear accumulated obligations.
He said government initially prioritised contractors owed N50 million or less before extending the exercise to verified claims of up to N100 million.
According to him, larger claims running into billions of naira could be addressed separately through negotiations and instruments such as promissory notes.
The minister said the approach was designed to support small businesses that depended on government payments to pay workers, suppliers and meet other immediate obligations.
He warned contractors against paying commissions or inducements to officials in order to facilitate the payment of verified claims, stressing that such demands were illegal.
Oyedele said the government was also working to prevent the accumulation of fresh debts by ensuring that budgets were more realistic and capital projects were backed by identifiable sources of funding.
“We will do our best to ensure that the accumulated obligations of the past do not repeat themselves,” he said.
The minister apologised to the former Nigeria Airways workers for the prolonged delay, stressing that the money being paid represented their legitimate entitlements and not government favours.
