BY OLAPEJU OLUBI
The Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ASRTI) has called for the immediate payment of outstanding entitlements owed to more than 4,000 former employees of the defunct Nigeria Airways Limited.
In a statement signed by its President, Air Commodore (rtd.) Ademola Onitiju, on Monday, described the prolonged delay as a grave injustice to former workers who dedicated decades to the country’s aviation industry.
Nigeria Airways, which was liquidated in April 2003, was the country’s national carrier before its collapse. ASRTI said its former employees had endured more than two decades of uncertainty while waiting for their benefits.
The group expressed concern over the reported deaths of several former workers, particularly elderly beneficiaries battling age-related illnesses and financial hardship.
“These senior citizens could have lived dignified, qualitative lives if their rightful benefits had been timely paid,” ASRTI said, describing the situation as a “dehumanising cycle of false hopes.”
The group recalled that the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, had announced in December 2025, during the centenary celebration of civil aviation in Nigeria, that President Bola Tinubu had approved the payment of the former workers’ entitlements and forwarded the approval to the Ministry of Finance for implementation.
ASRTI described the subsequent delay as unacceptable, saying administrative negligence or the mishandling of the presidential approval should not prevent the beneficiaries from receiving their money.
The group welcomed reports that the allegedly “missing” presidential approval document had been located and urged the relevant authorities to act immediately.
It also called for accountability for officials found responsible for any delay, misplacement or obstruction in the payment process.
“While we commend the efforts of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, we appeal to him to urgently liaise with the Minister of Finance and relevant authorities to effect these payments without further delay,” the statement said.
ASRTI said the former Nigeria Airways workers had given the better part of their productive years to the country and should not be subjected to further bureaucratic delays.
“To reward their decades of patriotic service with avoidable suffering and administrative ping-pong is a stain on our national conscience that must be corrected immediately,” it said.
Olapeju is a journalist and aviation reporter.
