Tinubu Releases 36 Billion Naira for Nigeria Airways Pensions

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved and released 36 billion naira to settle outstanding pensions and gratuities for former employees of Nigeria Airways. The payment addresses claims left unpaid since the airline's liquidation in September 2004, a move for which the president received an award from a workers' union.

The disbursement triggered a political clash between current and former officials. Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo accused former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of hypocrisy for criticizing current economic hardships while having served in the administration that liquidated the airline without paying workers. Keyamo claimed that many employees died of frustration before the current administration cleared the debt.

In response, former Minister of Aviation Femi Fani-Kayode defended former President Olusegun Obasanjo, arguing that the airline was already insolvent due to decades of corruption before Obasanjo took office in 1999. Fani-Kayode stated that the liquidation was a necessary decision and noted that previous attempts to settle the debts in 2006 had been rejected by the Federal Executive Council. While Fani-Kayode commended the completion of the payments, the dispute highlights deep divisions over the legacy of the Obasanjo-Abubakar administration.