The Federal Government has begun the disbursement of ₦18 billion in outstanding severance benefits to 2,100 former employees of the defunct Nigeria Airways Limited, bringing fresh relief to workers who have waited years for their entitlements.
The payment follows President Bola Tinubu’s approval for the settlement of the longstanding financial obligations owed to the former workers, according to the government.
So far, beneficiaries in batches one to seven have received their payments, while the entitlements of another 600 former workers in batches eight and nine are being finalised.
The process, which is aimed at ensuring that payments reach genuine beneficiaries, involved verification, biometric capture and validation of personal and banking information.
The government also said it would conduct a mop-up exercise for eligible beneficiaries whose records could not be processed during the initial exercise.
The mop-up will particularly address cases involving deceased beneficiaries, their next of kin and estates, to ensure that legitimate claims are not excluded from the payment process.
The development is expected to provide significant financial relief to former Nigeria Airways workers, many of whom have spent years awaiting payment of their outstanding severance benefits.
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Nigeria Airways Limited, once the country’s national carrier, was liquidated in 2003, leaving former workers with unresolved financial claims that remained outstanding for years.
The commencement of the ₦18 billion payment therefore marks a major step by the Federal Government towards resolving the severance obligations and closing one of the longstanding labour-related issues associated with the defunct national airline.
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