FG commits to settling Nigeria Airways’ workers’ severance package
The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to fulfill its obligation by settling the remaining severance package owed to former employees of Nigeria Airways.
Speaking at a stakeholders forum in Lagos, Mr. Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, confirmed the government’s intention to clear the final portion of the monies owed to the ex-workers.
The payment initiative, initiated by the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA) in 2019, has an allocation of approximately N5 billion. This allocation is expected to benefit around 1,000 former Nigeria Airways employees.
While specific financial details were not disclosed by Keyamo, he emphasized the federal government’s seriousness in addressing this matter. The ex-workers will soon receive the remaining portion of their severance pay.
Nigerian Airways ceased its operations in 2003 after facing continuous struggles and depleting its aircraft fleet. The 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. This amount represented approximately 50 percent of the total N45.3 billion in entitlements for former employees.
Originally, the ex-workers had claimed N78 billion as their retirement entitlement. However, this amount was revised following a verification exercise conducted by PICA and other stakeholders to align with the service conditions of the liquidated Nigerian Airways Ltd.
The agreed sum of N45 billion was 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.
