After more than two decades of waiting, protests and repeated appeals, former workers of the defunct Nigeria Airways Limited have finally begun receiving their outstanding severance benefits, The Nation reports. The development was disclosed by Comrade John Ogbe, National President of the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN).
Ogbe commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for resolving the long-running labour issue, saying: “I want to thank the President of the country, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for resolving a long labour issue that has been affecting the workers of Nigeria”. He confirmed payments were being made in batches, with beneficiaries already receiving funds.
The Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ASRTI) also applauded Tinubu and Minister of Aviation Festus Keyamo for addressing the “delayed payment of retirement benefits to ex-workers who endured more than two decades of agonising neglect following the airline’s abrupt liquidation in April 2003”. ASRTI President Air Commodore (rtd) Ademola Onitiju urged the government to promptly pay entitlements of remaining living and deceased staff to their families.
The Federal Government made an earlier payment in 2018, but the outstanding final tranche put at N36 billion—had faced implementation delays. For thousands of pilots, engineers, cabin crew and ground staff, the collapse of Nigeria’s former national carrier marked the abrupt end of careers built around an institution that once carried Nigeria’s flag across domestic, African and international routes.