The Federal Government has commenced the payment of N18 billion in outstanding severance benefits to 2,700 former employees of the defunct Nigeria Airways, bringing relief to workers and families who have waited for their entitlements for more than two decades.

According to details released by the government, about 2,100 former employees in batches one to seven have already received payments, while another 600 beneficiaries in batches eight and nine have been cleared for payment.

Altogether, the exercise covers N18 billion in verified benefits owed to 2,700 former Nigeria Airways workers.

Nigeria Airways was liquidated in 2003, leaving thousands of former employees pursuing outstanding benefits and other entitlements. Over the years, some of the affected workers have died, leaving their families and next of kin to continue the claims process.

The Federal Government said the latest payments followed a directive by President Bola Tinubu to address the long standing obligation and ensure verified beneficiaries receive what is due to them.

Officials acknowledged that the payments could not fully compensate beneficiaries for more than two decades of waiting, particularly given the significant decline in the value of money over that period.

However, the government said the settlement was necessary to prevent inherited obligations from remaining unresolved for another generation.

PAYMENTS FOLLOW VERIFICATION EXERCISE

The payment process followed an extensive verification exercise involving biometric capture and the validation of beneficiaries' personal and banking information.

The verification was introduced to ensure payments were made only to legitimate beneficiaries and to reduce the possibility of fraudulent or duplicate claims.

Cases involving outdated personal information, incorrect bank details and beneficiaries who died before receiving their payments will require additional verification.

For deceased former employees, payments are expected to be released to documented next of kin, estates or other legally recognised beneficiaries once the necessary processes have been completed.

The government said payments were being processed in batches so that beneficiaries whose claims had already been verified would not have to continue waiting while unresolved cases were being investigated.

The benefits cover different categories of former Nigeria Airways employees, including both junior and senior workers.

NO INFLATION ADJUSTMENT

Despite the lengthy delay, the Federal Government is settling the obligations based on the amounts officially documented and verified.

This means the payments have not been adjusted to account for inflation over the more than 20 years many beneficiaries have waited.

Officials acknowledged that inflation had significantly reduced the purchasing power of the amounts originally owed but said there was no provision for an inflation adjustment under the current settlement arrangement.

FG ALSO CLEARS CONTRACTOR DEBTS

The Nigeria Airways payments form part of a broader Federal Government effort to clear verified financial obligations inherited from previous years.

The government said outstanding obligations to more than 12,000 indigenous contractors had also been paid as part of the exercise.

Priority was initially given to smaller contractors owed N50 million or less before payments were extended to businesses with verified claims of up to N100 million.

Larger outstanding claims running into billions of naira could be handled separately through negotiations and financial instruments such as promissory notes.

The government said prioritising smaller contractors was intended to provide liquidity to businesses that depend on government payments to meet salaries and other immediate operating expenses.

Contractors were also warned against paying commissions, bribes or other inducements to government officials in an attempt to secure payment of verified claims.

The Federal Government said it was working to prevent another accumulation of unpaid obligations by improving the credibility of the national budget and ensuring that capital expenditure commitments are supported by identifiable sources of funding.

For the former Nigeria Airways employees and their families, the N18 billion payment represents the settlement of an obligation that has remained unresolved since the collapse of the national carrier more than two decades ago.

The government also apologised for the prolonged delay, stressing that the money being paid to the former workers represents their legitimate entitlements and should not be regarded as a favour.

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