The Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ASRTI) has condemned the continued delay in the payment of the balance of the 50 per cent entitlements of more than 4,000 former employees of the defunct national airline, Nigeria Airways.

The Federal government had in 2018, made payment of 50 per cent of severance packages, amounting to N36 billion to the affected workers, while the remaining balance had continued to elude the former workers despite the assurances.

The ASRTI in a statement yesterday by its President, Ademola Onitiju said the continuous delay of the payment of the severance benefit was a “grave injustice” to Nigerians who the group said dedicated their productive years to national service.

Onitiju stated that the former workers had been subjected to more than two decades of bureaucratic delays, false hopes and administrative “ping-pong” since the liquidation of the national carrier in April 2003.

The group regretted that the prolonged delay had taken a heavy toll on the former workers, many of whom were now elderly and battling age-related illnesses and financial hardship.

According to ASRTI, the hundreds of elderly beneficiaries had died while waiting for their legitimate entitlements, stressing that the situation had become a national tragedy and a poor reflection of the country’s treatment of citizens who served it faithfully.

ASRTI noted that Nigeria Airways was never a private enterprise, but the country’s former national carrier and a symbol of its sovereignty, while its employees were professionals who served the nation with the expectation that their welfare would be guaranteed after retirement.

The statement said: “Nigeria Airways was never a private enterprise; it was the proud national carrier and a symbol of our collective sovereignty.

“The men and women who worked there were dedicated professionals who served with unwavering zeal, trusting that the nation they built would care for them in their golden years. Instead, they have been subjected to over two decades of agonising neglect following the airline’s abrupt liquidation in April 2003.”

The group expressed concern that the prolonged withholding of their entitlements had left many of the former workers struggling with health challenges, including hypertension and diabetes, as well as basic financial needs.

It said the situation was particularly disturbing because the former workers had received assurances that their entitlements would be paid.

Onitiju recalled that the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, had announced in December 2025, during the centenary celebration of 100 years of civil aviation in Nigeria, that President Bola Tinubu had approved the payment of the entitlements of former Nigeria Airways workers.

According to ASRTI, the presidential approval was subsequently forwarded to the Ministry of Finance for implementation.

The group, however, expressed dismay that the implementation was yet to be concluded, describing any administrative negligence, delay or alleged sabotage of the presidential directive as unacceptable.

It therefore called on the relevant authorities to immediately commence the process of paying the former workers, while urging that any official found culpable for the alleged delay, misplacement or stalling of the process should be held accountable under the appropriate public service regulations.

The group however commended Keyamo for his efforts on the matter, but appealed to him to urgently engage with the Minister of Finance and other relevant authorities to ensure that the payments were effected without further delay.