Aviation labour unions have, once again, appealed to the Federal Government to bring closure to the long-standing plight of former Nigeria Airways workers through the payment of their final severance benefits, 21 years after the liquidation of the national carrier.
 
Speaking in Lagos at the weekend during the third edition of the Joint Aviation Trade Union Forum (JATUF) with the theme: ‘Safe Landing, Strong Leadership: Prioritising Workers’ Safety and Welfare in the Aviation Sector,’ its Chairman, Ben Nnabue, described the continued delay in settling the entitlements of Nigeria Airways retirees as painful and unacceptable.
 
He warned that the situation had continued to create anxiety among serving aviation workers and was causing a stumbling block to the successful concessioning of some airports by the Federal Government.
   
Nnabue emphasised that all necessary approvals for the payment of the retirees’ severance had already been granted by President Bola Tinubu and appealed to the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, to ensure immediate disbursement of the approval before the end of the year.
 
“All the people who retired in the aviation industry and are still being owed gratuity and pension, especially Nigeria Airways workers, must not be abandoned. We must rise and fight for them.
   
“If Nigeria Airways workers have not been paid till today, there is no guarantee that the current airport workers will be protected under the concession. This is one of the reasons the issue remains very sensitive to us.”
   
Also speaking at the occasion, the General Secretary of the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), Olayinka Abioye, said that the former Nigeria Airways staff could receive their long-awaited payments before the end of the year.
   
According to Abioye, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, had followed up on the matter diligently, including engagements with the Ministry of Finance.
 
He confirmed that the approval had been given for the payment of the severance benefits by the Presidency and appealed to Edun, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr Yemi Cardozo, to do the needful so that the retirees could start their lives all over again.
   
An ex–Nigeria Airways pilot, Capt. Prex Porbeni, in his presentation at the event, appealed to the Federal Government to show compassion to the retirees, many of whom, he said, had waited more than two decades without payment.
 
He recalled that presidential approval for the payment of the benefits 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 required documentation.
   
“We are confident that the Minister of Finance will direct his officials to pay us promptly. Sadly, quite a number of our colleagues have died in the last 21 years without receiving the reward for their hard labour,” he lamented.

Besides, the General Secretary of JATUF, Hector Nnaji,  appealed to the Federal Government to stop forthwith the continuous deduction of 50 per cent Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from some of the aviation agencies.
   
He regretted that despite the outcry by different aviation professionals, the act had continued in the last four years, stressing that aviation was a cost-recovery and not a profit-making sector.