The Deputy General Secretary of the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP), Mr Ocheme Aba, has described the Federal Government’s release of ₦4.4 billion for 600 former Nigerian Airways workers as a significant relief for affected retirees and their families, while calling for the prompt settlement of all outstanding entitlements.
Aba, who spoke on the Ask the Expert segment of Trade FM’s Breakfast Business Briefing, said the payment would bring the total amount released for former Nigerian Airways workers to about ₦24 billion, following an earlier disbursement of ₦18 billion in September 2026.
“Every naira, any money, is really a relief for people who have been in purgatory for many, many years. You can imagine the amount of relief this will be for the people who are affected,” he said.
However, the ANAP official stressed that the payment represented only part of the outstanding obligations owed to former workers, noting that the process was still far from completion.
“We are heading for ₦24 billion as a whole. We are still a distance away from the destination,” Aba stated.
Aba condemns over two decades of delay in payment
The ANAP Deputy General Secretary criticised successive administrations for failing to settle the entitlements of former Nigerian Airways workers more than two decades after the airline ceased operations.
He described the prolonged delay as a serious injustice, saying the situation had left many retirees and their families in distress, with some beneficiaries dying before receiving their full entitlements.
“Nothing can be an excuse for anyone for this neglect of over 20 years. People are still wondering, and so many have died. It is really a heartless situation that people have to be treated in this manner for this number of years,” he said.
Aba attributed the delay to the lack of urgency by successive governments, noting that the payment process had spanned several administrations.
According to him, the Obasanjo administration oversaw the liquidation of Nigerian Airways, while the Jonathan administration paid about 50 per cent of the outstanding entitlements. The remaining balance is being addressed by the current administration.
He said the prolonged wait had exposed former employees to significant financial hardship, particularly as the value of money had declined over the years.
Inflation has eroded retirees’ entitlements
Aba said the delay in settling the entitlements had significantly reduced the purchasing power of the money owed to the former workers, leaving many retirees with payments that no longer reflect the value of their earnings when the airline was operational.
He explained that the amount a worker was entitled to receive in 2004 would have been worth considerably more if paid at the time.
“A million naira at the time of payment in 2004 is about ₦10 million now. So anybody who is receiving one million naira now is like being paid ₦100,000 or ₦400,000. That is really what it means,” he said.
The ANAP official lamented that there was currently no remedy for the losses suffered by the beneficiaries due to inflation and currency devaluation.
“There isn’t any remedy provided for this situation because of devaluation over time. The money has lost value. It is almost meaningless to many people, honestly speaking,” he added.
Verification process focuses on deceased beneficiaries
On the verification process for the latest payment, Aba explained that only specific categories of beneficiaries were required to undergo fresh verification.
He said former workers who had already completed the verification process were only required to confirm whether their bank details remained unchanged or provide updated information where necessary.
However, beneficiaries whose relatives had died since the previous payment were required to submit letters of administration to establish the lawful inheritors of the outstanding entitlements.
“The category of people whose beneficiaries died since the last payment were required to come and submit letters of administration to confirm the lawful inheritors of the people affected. Those are the ones that are currently doing verification,” he said.
Aba disclosed that verification exercises in Port Harcourt and Bauchi had been completed, while the exercise in Lagos had been extended to Wednesday.
He assured former workers that the death of a beneficiary would not extinguish the outstanding entitlement, stressing that the money had already been earned by the deceased.
“The idea is that everybody is to be paid. The debt in this case does not stop you from getting it, because you already earned it while alive. That is an outstanding payment,” he said.
ANAP credits engagement with government for latest payment
Aba said ANAP, alongside other aviation unions, had played an active role in advocating for former Nigerian Airways workers and engaging government officials to ensure the release of the outstanding funds.
He specifically acknowledged the contributions of the Ministers of Aviation and Finance, saying their engagement with the unions had helped facilitate the latest payment.
“Our contact and engagement with the Minister of Aviation and the Minister of Finance helped a lot to facilitate this round of payments,” he said.
He added that the unions remained committed to ensuring that former workers received their outstanding entitlements.
Ministry of Finance assures of availability of funds
Addressing concerns about whether the remaining beneficiaries would eventually receive their payments, Aba said the Ministry of Finance had assured the association that the funds required to settle the outstanding balance had been procured.
He explained that payments were being made in batches because of the need to reconcile beneficiaries’ documentation and the difficulty of releasing the entire amount at once.
“We have assurance from the Ministry of Finance that the entire money for this payment, for this entire balance, has been procured,” he said.
According to him, the payment process is being carried out in batches to allow for proper documentation and reconciliation.
“We know that all documentation, all procurement for the entire money has been finished. So that is the only assurance we have,” Aba added.
Delayed payments undermine confidence in workers’ welfare
The ANAP official warned that the prolonged failure to settle the entitlements of former Nigerian Airways workers could negatively affect the confidence and morale of serving aviation professionals.
He said current workers could become discouraged when they see former colleagues spending decades pursuing benefits they had earned.
“It is definitely like a slave watching another slave being massacred. So it is kind of discouraging to them,” he said.
However, Aba noted that the current structure of government-owned aviation institutions and the existing pension arrangements made a similar situation less likely to occur.
He explained that there were no longer government-owned aviation companies operating under the same structure as Nigerian Airways, while many current government aviation organisations were statutory institutions that could not easily be liquidated.
Nigerian Airways liquidation offers lessons for government
Aba called on government and policymakers to learn from the Nigerian Airways experience, warning that the closure or liquidation of an organisation must not be treated as a simple administrative decision without considering the consequences for its employees.
He said the experience demonstrated the need for adequate safeguards to protect workers’ pensions, severance benefits and other entitlements whenever an organisation was shut down.
“What has happened in the case of Nigeria Airways should be something that everybody should learn from,” he said.
“You can’t just start up and pronounce and say this company has shut down. There are consequences to such a pronouncement. People should not make such pronouncements lightly.”
Nigeria losing aviation professionals to other countries
Beyond the outstanding payments, Aba expressed concern about the impact of Nigerian Airways’ collapse on the development of aviation professionals in the country.
He said the airline had played a major role in training and developing aviation personnel, providing a steady pool of skilled workers for the industry.
According to him, the airline’s policy of employing and training fresh professionals helped build the capacity of the Nigerian aviation sector.
However, he said the industry was now facing a shortage of trained Nigerian professionals because many airlines preferred to recruit experienced personnel rather than invest in training new workers.
“Nigerian Airways provided the bulk of aviation professionals for the industry. Since the exit of Nigerian Airways, there is no other organisation that stands to train people, to employ fresh people and train them,” he said.
Aba noted that airlines were increasingly looking for experienced professionals who could immediately fit into their operations, leaving fewer opportunities for young Nigerians to acquire aviation skills.
He also compared the situation with Ethiopian Airlines, which he said had developed into a major source of aviation professionals globally.
“Ethiopian Airlines was coming to Nigeria to learn from Nigerian Airways, to train their own professionals, including Nigerians. But today, Ethiopian Airlines provides trained people for aviation globally,” he said.
He described the situation as a costly setback for Nigeria, saying the country had lost an important institution that once contributed significantly to aviation training and workforce development.
“Because we killed our own while they developed theirs. That is a very, very big minus for us,” Aba said.
He urged government and aviation authorities to prioritise workers’ welfare, protect the entitlements of serving and retired professionals, and invest in training to rebuild the country’s aviation workforce.
