Former workers and pensioners of the defunct Nigeria Airways have appealed to President Bola Tinubu to intervene over the alleged omission of their ₦36 billion severance and pension benefits from the 2025 and 2026 federal budgets.
In a letter dated May 7, 2026 and addressed to the President, with copies sent to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, the retirees expressed disappointment that the funds earlier approved for their settlement were no longer reflected in the fiscal documents.
The letter was signed by the Acting Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Nigeria Airways Branch, Comrade Olusegun Adeleke, and Secretary, Comrade Thomas Ojuderi.
The group said they had initially welcomed President Tinubu’s approval in May 2025 for the payment of their entitlements, describing it as a long-awaited relief after years of uncertainty.
According to them, the absence of the ₦36 billion allocation in the budget came as a shock, despite earlier assurances that their payments had been captured.
“Our hearts were gladdened by the approval granted for our severance and pension payments in May 2025,” the letter stated. “But it came as a rude shock when we could not trace the ₦36 billion meant for us in the 2025/2026 Budget.”
The retirees appealed to the President to intervene directly, urging him to direct the Minister of Finance to ensure payment from any available source.
They described Tinubu as their last hope in resolving what they called a long-standing delay in the settlement of their benefits.
“We know and believe that Mr President is the only one who can bail us out of this unending delay,” the letter added, pleading for urgent humanitarian intervention.
The former workers also lamented the human toll of the prolonged delay, alleging that more than 1,500 of their colleagues had died while waiting for their entitlements due to hardship and lack of access to medical care.
Nigeria Airways, once the country’s national carrier, was liquidated in 2003, leaving thousands of former employees in a prolonged struggle over unpaid pensions, gratuities and severance packages.
Since the liquidation, many retirees have repeatedly decried worsening living conditions, with several reportedly passing away while awaiting payment of their long-overdue benefits.
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