Keyamo and Fani-Kayode Clash Over Nigeria Airways Closure

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo and his predecessor, Femi Fani-Kayode, are arguing about how Nigeria Airways collapsed. They are also discussing the role that former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar played in the national carrier's liquidation.

In a video on his official X account, Atiku Abubakar said many Nigerian families are struggling. They find it hard to pay for food, healthcare, transport, and rent. Many are also scared of kidnapping and attacks.

“Bola made life expensive. I will work to make life affordable again and restore the security every Nigerian deserves,” he said.

Mr Keyamo responded by accusing Atiku of being hypocritical. He pointed out that Nigeria Airways was liquidated in 2004 and that many former workers have not received their entitlements since then. He said that the government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, where Atiku was vice-president, left many workers without pensions and gratuities.

Keyamo stated that President Bola Tinubu approved and released ₦36 billion to pay the former employees what they were owed. He added that some beneficiaries have started receiving their payments.

“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.

He also called out Atiku for taking credit for the good things done by the Obasanjo administration when it suited him, but avoiding responsibility for its mistakes when criticized.

Mr Fani-Kayode, who was Nigeria’s aviation minister from November 2006 to May 2007, challenged Keyamo’s claims about the airline's collapse in a post on X. He said the airline was already in serious trouble before Obasanjo returned to power in 1999.

He claimed that Nigeria Airways had 32 operational aircraft when Obasanjo left office as a military ruler in 1979. By 1999, there was only one aircraft left.

“The company was liquidated primarily due to chronic insolvency, operational collapse and mismanagement in its operations which took place between 1979 and 1999,” he said.

Fani-Kayode argued that the Obasanjo government had little choice but to liquidate the airline after years of decline and failed attempts to save it. He also disagreed with the idea that the administration was entirely to blame for the unpaid entitlements of former workers. He noted that their pension issues were unresolved even after the airline was shut down.

He mentioned that during his time as aviation minister in 2006, he presented a proposal to the Federal Executive Council to pay the outstanding pensions to ex-Nigeria Airways workers. However, some cabinet members opposed it, saying the former board members and management were partly responsible for the airline's failure.

Fani-Kayode disagreed with that view but could not get approval for his proposal. He added that the issue was later taken up by former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s government, which paid most of the pensioners. The administration of Muhammadu Buhari also made payments.

Fani-Kayode praised the current government for finally settling the outstanding entitlements but said these payments should have been made much earlier.