John Ogala, a presidential candidate in the forthcoming election of the Air Transport Senior Staff Services Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), has pledged to make the payment of outstanding severance benefits to former employees of the defunct Nigeria Airways his top priority, 22 years after the airline’s liquidation.
Speaking with journalists at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, Mr. Ogala described the situation as a “long-standing injustice” that must be urgently redressed.
“It is lamentable that, to this day, the severance benefits of our comrades from the defunct Nigeria Airways remain unresolved,” he said. “Many have died in the struggle for what rightfully belongs to them, leaving their families in anguish and their children out of school.”
Nigeria Airways, once the nation’s flagship carrier, was liquidated by the Federal Government in 2004, a year after it ceased operations. The first tranche of severance payments was released in December 2018 under the administration of the late President Muhammadu Buhari—15 years after the airline’s closure.
However, the remaining 50 percent of the entitlement, estimated at ₦22 billion, has yet to be paid despite reports of government approval.
Mr. Ogala commended the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, for his efforts to address the issue, but noted that completing the payment process would require action from other relevant ministries.
“This is not a campaign of promises; it is a movement of purpose,” he declared. “Together, we shall make ATSSSAN not just a union, but a family bound by solidarity and a shared destiny.”
The ATSSSAN presidential election is scheduled for December, with workers’ welfare and unresolved severance payments emerging as key campaign issues.
