The Federal Government has paid 18 billion naira to 2,100 former Nigeria Airways workers, more than two decades after the airline was liquidated. According to the Federal Ministry of Finance, the payment covers beneficiaries in batches one to seven, while claims from another 600 workers in batches eight and nine were still being finalised. Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Taiwo Oyedele acknowledged that some former employees had grown old waiting for their severance benefits, while others died before receiving their entitlements.
The lengthy delay has had severe consequences for workers and their families. Some employees spent their retirement years pursuing unpaid severance, while families of those who died before receiving payment must now navigate administrative procedures to establish their rights. The postponement has eroded the purchasing power of these benefits through inflation and prevented workers from meeting essential needs such as education and medical expenses when those funds would have made the most difference. For deceased beneficiaries' estates, the delay represents lost opportunities that cannot be recovered.
However, significant questions remain unresolved. The government has not clarified whether the 18 billion naira settlement covers all verified outstanding claims or whether further liabilities from the airline's liquidation still exist. The Ministry of Finance must disclose the number of beneficiaries still awaiting payment, the amount of money outstanding and a firm deadline for completing the settlement. Without this clarity, the payment represents progress but does not necessarily prove that every obligation arising from Nigeria Airways' liquidation has been discharged.
The episode exposes broader weaknesses in how Nigeria manages public enterprise restructuring and liquidation. When government privatises, concessions or liquidates public enterprises, it may not adequately secure outstanding employment obligations before proceeding. Worker liabilities can become fragmented across multiple authorities, complicating settlements due to incomplete records and disputed entitlements. The ministry notes that the current settlement relies on verified entitlements without automatic inflation compensation, but this approach does not address who bears the financial cost of delays or whether interest compensation is warranted for unpaid verified claims.
To prevent similar situations affecting future workers, the government should establish employee liabilities as a formal requirement before restructuring any public enterprise. Prior to ownership change or cessation of operations, a verified schedule of outstanding wages, pensions, severance benefits and contractual obligations must be prepared, along with a designated funding source and binding payment timetable. The ministry and oversight institutions should maintain a public register tracking verified claims, amounts paid, balances outstanding and reasons for delays, with quarterly reporting to allow workers, unions and legislators to monitor progress.
For workers and their families, this settlement means long-delayed access to earned benefits, but the uncertainty about remaining liabilities and the burden on families of deceased workers demonstrate that administrative and financial protections for workers during public enterprise restructuring remain inadequate in Nigeria. The government's immediate priority is to publish a definitive account of any remaining liabilities from Nigeria Airways, explain obstacles to outstanding payments and set a deadline for completion, including claims involving deceased beneficiaries.