The Federal Government has commenced the payment of ₦18 billion in outstanding severance benefits to 2,100 former employees of the defunct Nigeria Airways Limited, more than 20 years after the national carrier was liquidated.
The Federal Ministry of Finance disclosed this in a statement on Friday, noting that payments had been completed for beneficiaries in Batches 1 to 7.
The ministry added that the payment of severance benefits to another 600 former workers in Batches 8 and 9 was being finalised and would be completed in the coming days.
The development followed approval by President Bola Tinubu for the settlement of outstanding severance obligations owed to former employees of the defunct airline.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said the payment reflected the government’s commitment to addressing legitimate outstanding obligations owed to Nigerians.
Oyedele said the beneficiaries and their families had waited for many years to receive payments due to them, adding that the government was determined to complete the necessary processes once funds were secured.
According to him, the exercise also demonstrates the importance of cooperation among government institutions in resolving longstanding issues while maintaining safeguards for the proper management of public funds.
The ministry explained that the payment process involved extensive verification of beneficiaries’ records.
The verification included biometric capture, validation of personal information and confirmation of banking details to ensure that payments were made only to legitimate beneficiaries.
The Director in charge of the Presidential Initiative and Continuous Audit Department, Seldam Dangin, said the ministry was preparing a second-phase mop-up exercise to accommodate eligible beneficiaries whose records could not be processed during the initial exercise.
Dangin said the mop-up would provide an opportunity to update inaccurate or outdated records, conduct additional biometric verification where required and correct discrepancies in beneficiaries’ banking information.
He added that cases involving deceased beneficiaries would also be addressed, with their next of kin or estates required to complete the relevant verification and legal procedures before payments could be made.
The ministry said the mop-up exercise was expected to commence by the end of September or early October, subject to the completion of final arrangements.
The Federal Government also acknowledged the contributions of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, and the National Assembly Joint Committees on Aviation towards resolving the outstanding payments.
The Senate Committee on Aviation, chaired by Senator Abdulfatai Buhari, and the House Committee on Aviation, chaired by Hon. Abdullahi Idris Garba, were also commended for their oversight and engagement on the matter.
The government said the payment to beneficiaries in the first seven batches, alongside the preparations to settle Batches 8 and 9, represented significant progress in resolving the long-running severance obligations owed to former Nigeria Airways workers.
The planned mop-up exercise is expected to address unresolved cases and enable more eligible former workers and beneficiaries to complete the necessary requirements for payment.
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