The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of leaving a “mess” in the defunct Nigeria Airways. He said the Tinubu administration is clearing it by releasing funds to pay outstanding entitlements. He made the claim in a post on his X account.
Nigeria Airways was liquidated in September 2004 under President Olusegun Obasanjo. Atiku was Vice President. Thousands of workers lost their jobs. They did not receive pensions or gratuities. The debt remained unpaid for over two decades. The workers protested for years. Successive governments promised to settle them. Nothing happened. In 2023, Tinubu took office. His administration approved ₦36 billion to settle the entitlements.
Keyamo said the workers had started receiving alerts. He accused Atiku of hypocrisy. “Your Excellency, Atiku Abubakar, this is hypocrisy at its peak,” he wrote. “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 the President was given an award by the workers’ union. He accused Atiku of picking and choosing when to own the record of the Obasanjo administration.
The exchange follows Atiku’s appeal over the rising cost of living and insecurity. Atiku said families were struggling to afford food, healthcare and transportation. He urged Nigerians to collect their PVCs. Keyamo said Atiku cannot disguise his ambition in rhetoric.
Winners: The former Nigeria Airways workers, who receive payments. Keyamo, who shows loyalty. Tinubu, who gains credit. Losers: Atiku, whose record is challenged. The workers who died waiting. Nigerians who see another political fight.
Bottom Line: Keyamo says Tinubu paid what Atiku owed. The workers waited 22 years. Some died. The payments are welcome. The timing is political. Both men are campaigning.