Aviation workers urge Tinubu to pay Nigeria Airways retirees’ benefits
Aviation workers across the country, under the Joint Consultative and Negotiating Council, have called on President Bola Tinubu to facilitate the payment of outstanding entitlements to employees of the defunct national carrier, Nigeria Airways.
The JCNC Chairman, Comrade Hector Nnadi, made this appeal at the 11th edition of the Aviation Workers’ Week and Award Night, held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, on Wednesday.
Nnadi stated that multiple attempts had been made through the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, to secure payment, but these efforts had yielded no results.
It will be recalled that in 2018, aviation workers’ unions threatened to shut down airspace and halt flight operations in protest against the Federal Government’s refusal to pay ₦45 billion in pensions and gratuities owed to former Nigeria Airways employees.
The unions — including the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers, the National Union of Air Transport Employees, and the Air Transport Senior Staff Services Association of Nigeria — condemned the delayed payment to approximately 6,000 ex-workers, months after former President Muhammadu Buhari approved the lump sum.
In a petition to the then Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, the unions insisted they would not stand by while former employees of the defunct carrier continued to die without receiving their benefits.
In 2018, Buhari approved ₦22 billion as part of the ₦45 billion owed to the former workers. However, records indicate that ₦36 billion remains unpaid, leading to financial difficulties for many, with some ex-aviation workers passing away while waiting for their entitlements.
In January 2025, the National Assembly Joint Committee on Aviation also threatened to withhold approval of the budgetary allocation to the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development unless provisions were made for the payment of the former Nigeria Airways employees.
Speaking at the event in Abuja on Wednesday night, JCNC Chairman Nnadi appealed to President Tinubu to settle the outstanding debt and provide relief to the affected retirees.
He said, “Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the tireless efforts of our aviation workers, who strive day and night to ensure the safety, security, and efficiency of our industry. Among these dedicated professionals are the workers of the defunct Nigeria Airways, who served this nation patriotically but are still struggling to receive their full entitlements, 30 years after the airline’s liquidation. We are sending an SOS to Mr President for his urgent intervention to resolve this matter and become an ‘Aviation Workers’ Hero.’ This appeal is without prejudice to the Honourable Minister of Aviation’s ongoing efforts.”
Also speaking at the event, the Minister, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Dr Ibrahim Kana, reaffirmed his commitment to unionism and the welfare of aviation workers.
Kana emphasised that unionism should not be adversarial to progress but rather a driving force behind it. “Please always embrace the culture of dialogue. It is always better to JAW-JAW than WAR-WAR,” he said.
The President of the Aviation Round Table, Air Commodore Ademola Ojuku (retd.), in his goodwill message, commended the JCNC for its continued efforts in uniting aviation professionals annually to advance the industry.
