Keyamo blames Atiku over Nigeria Airways liquidation, Fani-Kayode disagrees

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo and his predecessor, Femi Fani-Kayode, have disagreed over the circumstances surrounding the collapse of Nigeria Airways and the position the administration through which former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar served performed in liquidating the nationwide service.

In a video posted on his official X account, Mr Abubakar stated Nigerian households are going by means of exhausting occasions and struggling to afford meals, healthcare, transport, and lease. At the identical time, many stay in worry of kidnapping and assaults.

“Bola made life expensive. I will work to make life affordable again and restore the security every Nigerian deserves,” he stated.

In response, Mr Keyamo accused the previous vice-president of hypocrisy, citing the liquidation of Nigeria Airways in 2004 and the lengthy delay in settling its former staff’ entitlements.

He famous that the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, through which Mr Abubakar served because the vice-president, left 1000’s of staff with out pensions and gratuities.

According to Mr Keyamo, President Bola Tinubu accredited and launched ₦36 billion to settle the previous workers’ excellent entitlements, including that beneficiaries have begun receiving cost.

“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 stated.

He additionally criticised Mr Abubakar for taking credit score for the Obasanjo administration’s achievements when handy, whereas distancing himself from its choices when criticised.

Fani-Kayode defends Obasanjo

Mr Fani-Kayode, Nigeria’s aviation minister from November 2006 to May 2007, challenged Mr Keyamo’s account of the airline’s collapse in a submit on X on Thursday.

He asserted that the airline was already in extreme decline earlier than Mr Obasanjo returned to energy in 1999, and went additional to say Nigeria Airways had 32 practical plane when the previous president left workplace as a army head of state in 1979. Still, by 1999, he had just one plane left.

“The company was liquidated primarily due to chronic insolvency, operational collapse and mismanagement in its operations which took place between 1979 and 1999,” he stated.

Mr Fani-Kayode argued that the Obasanjo administration had little or no selection however to liquidate the airline after years of decline and failed makes an attempt to revive it.

He additionally disputed the declare that the administration was solely chargeable for the unpaid entitlements of former workers, saying the difficulty of their pensions remained unresolved even after the airline was wound up.

Mr Fani-Kayode stated that, as aviation minister in 2006, he introduced a memorandum to the Federal Executive Council in search of approval to pay excellent pensions to former Nigeria Airways staff.

According to him, the memorandum was rejected after some cupboard members opposed the cost, arguing that former board members and administration officers contributed to the airline’s collapse.

Mr Fani-Kayode stated he disagreed with that place however couldn’t safe approval for the proposal.

He added that the matter was taken up by the administration of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, which paid a lot of the pensioners. At the identical time, the administration of Muhammadu Buhari additionally made funds.

Mr Fani-Kayode recommended the present administration for settling the excellent entitlements however stated the funds ought to have been made earlier.

How Nigeria Airways collapsed

Nigeria Airways began in 1958 as WAAC (Nigeria) Ltd, following the restructuring of the West African Airways Corporation. The Federal Government initially held a 51 per cent stake in it, whereas different shares have been held by Elder Dempster Lines and British Overseas Airways Corporation. The authorities grew to become the airline’s sole shareholder in 1961.

The airline operated home and worldwide routes, connecting Nigerian cities with locations throughout Africa, Europe and North America. At its peak, it was a outstanding a part of the nation’s aviation trade.

However, its fortunes deteriorated over a number of a long time amid mounting debt, poor administration, political interference, overstaffing, and corruption allegations.

The airline had a fleet of 32 aircraft in 1984, which fell to a few by October 2000. By May 2003, its fleet had reportedly shrunk to 1 plane amid monetary misery and operational difficulties.

The airline’s monetary hassle additionally affected its worldwide operations. In early 1987, the International Air Transport Association suspended it from its clearing home over gathered money owed exceeding $1.1 million. The suspension constrained its means to difficulty tickets involving different member airways by means of the clearing system.

Investigation into alleged corruption

The airline’s decline additionally prompted an investigation into allegations of corruption and monetary mismanagement.

In 2001, the Obasanjo administration appointed a judicial commission to investigate the airline’s affairs throughout army rule from 1983 to 1999.

A November 2003 report by South Africa’s Business Report stated a authorities white paper on the investigation detailed an alleged $400 million graft case involving former aviation ministers, former managing administrators, and different officers related to the airline.

The report additionally stated the investigation recognized alleged over-invoicing, questionable funds, and different monetary irregularities. It additionally reported that the fee advisable recovering greater than $400 million from firms and former officers implicated in its findings, with some people advisable for prosecution.

Efforts to rescue the service by means of restructuring and privatisation failed to revive its operations. The International Finance Corporation, the World Bank Group’s private-sector arm, was engaged to advise on the privatisation course of however later withdrew.

The airline ceased operations in 2003.

FG pays N18bn in former staff’ advantages

The dispute over Nigeria Airways has continued lengthy after the airline stopped working, significantly over the pensions and severance advantages owed to its former workers.

In January 2025, PREMIUM TIMES reported that the National Assembly’s Joint Committee on Aviation stated the Federal Government owed former Nigeria Airways staff N36 billion. The lawmakers threatened to withhold approval of the aviation funds until provisions have been made for the cost.

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In May 2026, former staff once more appealed to the Federal Government to launch the excellent entitlements. In July, a ministerial committee was preparing to oversee the disbursement.

On 12 September, PREMIUM TIMES reported that the Federal Government had paid severance advantages to 2,100 former staff, whereas one other 600 beneficiaries had been cleared for cost. The advantages throughout the 9 batches amounted to N18 billion.

The Ministry of Finance stated President Tinubu had earlier accredited the settlement and directed that the matter be concluded. The ministry stated the method concerned figuring out eligible beneficiaries, validating information, and establishing monetary obligations earlier than funds started.