Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace development, has accused former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of criticising President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies while failing to address unpaid pensions and gratuities owed to former Nigeria Airways workers during the administration in which he served.
Gatekeepers News reports that Keyamo made the remarks in a post on X on Wednesday, October 14, while responding to Atiku’s criticism of the rising cost of living and his pledge to reverse the trend if elected president.
The minister said the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, in which Atiku served as vice-president, liquidated Nigeria Airways in September 2004, leaving thousands of workers without their pensions and gratuities.
“To add salt into their wounds, you refused to pay them their pensions and gratuities, running into billions of Naira,” Keyamo said.
He claimed that Tinubu had approved and released N36 billion more than a month ago to settle the outstanding benefits, adding that some former workers had begun receiving payment alerts.
“Twenty-two years later, after many of them have died out of frustration, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is now clearing the mess you left behind,” he said.
Keyamo also said the former workers’ union had presented Tinubu with an award in recognition of his administration’s intervention.
The minister accused Atiku of taking credit for decisions made by the Obasanjo administration when politically convenient while distancing himself from responsibility at other times.
Atiku had criticised Tinubu’s handling of the economy, arguing that government policies had made life more expensive for households and businesses. He promised to address the situation if elected president.
Nigeria Airways, the country’s former national carrier, was liquidated in 2004 after years of financial difficulties, leaving outstanding obligations to former employees.
The federal government has been processing payments to former Nigeria Airways workers as part of efforts to settle the outstanding severance benefits. The payments have been made in batches, with additional beneficiaries awaiting settlement.
