21 years after, unions decry unpaid severance of Nigeria Airways Retirees

Aviation labour unions have again expressed concern over the continued non-payment of severance benefits owed to former Nigeria Airways employees, 21 years after the liquidation of the defunct national carrier.

The unions raised the alarm in Lagos during the third edition of the Joint Aviation Trade Union Forum (JATUF), themed “Safe Landing, Strong Leadership: Prioritising Workers’ Safety and Welfare in the Aviation Sector.”

Speaking at the event, the Chairman of JATUF, Mr. Ben Nnabue, described the prolonged delay in settling the retirees’ entitlements as painful and unacceptable, warning that the situation has continued to generate anxiety among serving aviation workers.

According to Nnabue, the unresolved severance issue has also become a major obstacle to the Federal Government’s ongoing airport concession programme, as workers fear that their welfare may not be protected after disengagement.

“All retirees in the aviation industry who are still owed gratuity and pension, especially Nigeria Airways workers, must not be abandoned. We must rise and fight for them,” Nnabue said.

Also speaking, the General Secretary of the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), Comrade Olayinka Abioye, expressed hope that the retirees would finally receive their long-awaited entitlements before the end of the year.

He noted that the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, had been proactive in following up the matter, including engagements with the Ministry of Finance.

Abioye confirmed that presidential approval for the payment had been granted and appealed to the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Yemi Cardoso, to facilitate immediate release of the funds.

In his presentation, a former Nigeria Airways pilot, Capt. Prex Porbeni, called on the Federal Government to show compassion to the retirees, many of whom, he said, had waited for more than two decades without receiving their severance benefits.

Porbeni disclosed that presidential approval for the payment was conveyed to the Ministry of Aviation on June 10, 2025, with the ministry responding to the Ministry of Finance on July 24, 2025, providing the necessary documentation.

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