By Abdulmumini Ashiru
The federal government has commenced the payment of eighteen billion naira in outstanding severance benefits to 2,100 former employees of the defunct Nigeria Airways Limited.
The payment follows President Bola Tinubu’s approval to settle the longstanding financial obligations owed to the former workers.
Payments to beneficiaries in batches-one- to -seven have been completed, while the benefits of another 600 former workers in batches eight and nine are being finalised.
The process involved verification, biometric capture and validation of beneficiaries’ personal and banking information.
The government says a mop-up exercise will also be conducted for eligible beneficiaries whose records could not be processed during the initial exercise, including cases involving deceased beneficiaries and their next of kin or estates.
The exercise is expected to bring further relief to former Nigeria Airways workers who have waited for several years for their outstanding entitlements.
