he Director-General of the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS), Comrade Issa Aremu, says the recent commencement of payment of ₦18 billion out of the agreed ₦45 billion retirement benefit package owed to former workers of the defunct Nigeria Airways Limited further demonstrates President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to workers’ welfare.
Aremu made the assertion in a statement in Ilorin.
The defunct Nigeria Airways, once Nigeria’s national carrier, ceased operations in 2003 following years of financial difficulties and was subsequently liquidated in 2004, leaving thousands of former workers with outstanding severance benefits and pensions.
Aremu said; “the commencement of payment of the severance benefits by the Nigerian Government had brought the long-running compensation issue closer to resolution.
He said; “For over two decades, the poor workers, many of whom have grown old and some of whom have sadly passed on while their families continued the pursuit of these entitlements, carried the weight of a debt owed to them by the State.
“That this obligation has now been substantially discharged, with 2,100 beneficiaries already paid and the remaining 600 in the final stages of processing, is a profound demonstration that government can and should be held accountable to the workers who serve it.”
He said the payment was also an expression of the Renewed Hope Labour Market Agenda, which places the dignity, welfare and rights of Nigerian workers at the centre of governance.
According to him, “the payment should encourage continued collaboration among the government, organised labour, employers and other social partners in addressing outstanding labour-related issues through social dialogue, constructive engagement and respect for workers’ rights.”
Aremu reaffirmed the Institute’s commitment to supporting the Nigerian Government’s labour reform agenda through research, training and policy advocacy aimed at advancing the welfare of Nigerian workers.
