-Foreign debts hit $49.48m

The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has revealed that it is being owed over N34.69 billion by government agencies, airlines, state governments and corporate organisations.

This development, NAMA said was hampering its ability to meet statutory financial obligations, including revenue due to the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet).

Also, NiMet joint unions and staff have suspended its planned nationwide industrial action, which was slated for today (Wednesday).

The agency said it suspended the industrial action following the intervention of the Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development and an agreement to establish a new framework for resolving inter-agency revenue disputes.

In a letter addressed to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, the Joint In-house unions of NAMA – Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE), clarified that the agency had continued to remit funds to NiMet despite its financial challenges.

The letter, which was copied Managing Director of NAMA, Ahmed Farouk, was signed by Branch Chairmen, ATSSSAN, Oluwole Dada; Afatakpa Evuarherhe, Branch Chairman, ANAP; Abah Mathias, NUATE and Tukur M.S.A for AUPCTRE, respectively.

According to the unions, the agency paid about N400 million to NiMet between April and June 2026, demonstrating NAMA’s commitment to meeting its statutory obligations under difficult financial conditions.

The unions, however, argued that the agency’s liquidity had been severely weakened by huge outstanding debts owed by several organisations.

According to the unions, as of April 30, 2026, NAMA was owed over N34.69 billion in domestic receivables and approximately $49.48 million in foreign receivables.

The unions said the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) accounted for the largest domestic debt with N23.94 billion; followed by NAPIMS (Osubi Airport) with N2.05 billion; Arik Air, N2.27 billion; Aero Contractors N1.07 billion; Bauchi State government, N902.87 million; Ogun State government, N465.15 million, Taraba State government (Jalingo Airport), N309.35 million; Merry Aviation N143.38 million and ExxonMobil with N58.46 million.

They added that major foreign operators also owed the agency more than $21.84 million, contributing to a total foreign debt profile exceeding $49 million.

The unions further accused the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) of failing to remit NAMA’s statutory share of the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) for the past four months, describing the revenue as one of the agency’s principal funding sources.

According to them, the combined effect of unpaid debts and delayed statutory remittances had placed enormous financial pressure on NAMA, which is responsible for providing air traffic management, communication, navigation, surveillance, aeronautical information services and other critical air navigation functions across the country’s airspace.

The letter added: “These outstanding debts have significantly weakened NAMA’s liquidity, making it increasingly difficult for the agency to meet its operational, statutory and inter[1]agency financial obligations promptly.”

The unions warned that unless government urgently intervened to recover the debts and release the outstanding TSC, NAMA workers could be compelled to embark on an indefinite industrial action.

The unions urged the Federal Government to direct all debtors to immediately settle verified obligations owed to NAMA, release the agency’s outstanding statutory revenue, establish a sustainable debt recovery mechanism and convene a stakeholders’ meeting involving relevant aviation agencies to resolve the lingering financial disputes.

Meanwhile, NiMet has suspended its planned nationwide protest after an emergency meeting with the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development.

In a message to members, the leadership of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency Joint Action Committee (NJAC) said the decision followed assurances by the ministry that steps were being taken to address the lingering revenue-sharing issues affecting the agency.

According to the union, stakeholders agreed to develop a permanent framework to resolve accumulated revenue backlogs and prevent future disputes.

It also disclosed that the ministry had introduced a mechanism for monthly revenue sharing among aviation agencies going forward.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, according to the union, also directed NAMA to submit its statement of account to verify its claims regarding the non-remittance of funds to NiMet.

The union said it suspended the protest to allow government to complete the verification process and promised to brief members at a nationwide congress after the outcome of the exercise.

The circular said: “In light of the above, the leadership of our great union hereby suspended the proposed nationwide peaceful protest. This is to allow the Permanent Secretary to ascertain if truly NAMA didn’t have anything through their statements of account and to get back to the union through the management.

“However, kindly be informed that a nationwide congress will be scheduled and communicated to you soon after tomorrow (Wednesday). This will enable us to present the full outcome of the meeting to members.”

NiMet appealed to its workers to remain calm, assuring them that discussions with the ministry were yielding positive results aimed at improving staff welfare and ensuring a lasting solution to the revenue impasse.