The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has criticised former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar over the liquidation of Nigeria Airways in 2004 and the alleged failure of the administration through which he served to settle the pensions and gratuities of the airline’s former staff.
Keyamo’s criticism adopted a submit by Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, urging Nigerians to gather their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), describing them as devices for reaching peaceable change by way of elections.
Atiku had also accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of making life increasingly expensive for Nigerians, promising to revive affordability and supply the extent of safety residents deserve.
However, responding to Atiku in a press release posted on X on Wednesday, Keyamo recalled the liquidation of the nationwide service underneath former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration in September 2004, which he stated left hundreds of staff with out jobs and subjected their households to hardship.
“Your Excellency, Atiku Abubakar, this is hypocrisy at its peak! Let me just talk only about the sector that I head, Aviation,” Keyamo stated.
The minister alleged that the administration didn’t pay the affected staff their pensions and gratuities, which he stated amounted to billions of naira.
“To add salt into their wounds, you refused to pay them their pensions and gratuities, running into billions of Naira,” he stated.
Keyamo stated the Tinubu administration had begun addressing the excellent liabilities, claiming that the President had authorized and launched N36 billion to settle the advantages owed to the previous staff and supply reduction to their households.
“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. Over a month ago, Mr. President approved and released the total sum N36 billion to bring succour to these families,” he stated.
According to the minister, some beneficiaries had began receiving fee alerts following the discharge of the funds.
He added that the employees’ union had recognised Tinubu with an award a couple of weeks earlier in appreciation of the intervention.
“They have started receiving alerts and praying for Mr. President. In fact, the President was given an Award for this by the workers’ union a few weeks ago,” Keyamo stated.
The minister additionally accused Atiku of inconsistently taking credit score for the achievements of the Obasanjo administration whereas distancing himself from its choices every time they attracted criticism.
“Yet you sit down there and pontificate? It’s only the younger ones who don’t know your history you can attempt to hoodwink, but we will expose you to them. You cannot disguise your inordinate ambition in a cloud of rhetorical gibberish,” he stated.
Keyamo additional challenged the previous vice-president’s account of his position within the administration, accusing him of claiming credit score when handy whereas shifting accountability to Obasanjo at different instances.
“When it is convenient for you, you claim some credit of the Obasanjo-Atiku government and when not convenient, you say Obasanjo was in charge and not you as Vice-President. The proper posturing of a con artist!” he added.
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