Keyamo-Atiku: Nigeria Airways Crisis Predated Obasanjo’s Return in 1999, Says Fani-Kayode
Former Minister of Aviation Femi Fani-Kayode has responded to Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo over the controversy surrounding the liquidation of Nigeria Airways, arguing that the crisis that led to the airline’s collapse began long before former President Olusegun Obasanjo returned to power in 1999.
Fani-Kayode made the clarification in a statement addressed to Keyamo, insisting that although the airline was formally liquidated in 2004 under the Obasanjo administration, its decline resulted from years of mismanagement, corruption, mounting debts and operational failures.
According to him, Nigeria Airways had 32 functional aircraft when Obasanjo left office as military Head of State in 1979. However, he claimed that by the time Obasanjo returned as civilian president in 1999, only one aircraft remained, and it was no longer operational.
Fani-Kayode, who served as Minister of Aviation in 2006 after previously heading the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said the airline’s assets had largely disappeared and its financial condition had deteriorated significantly before Obasanjo’s return to office.
He argued that the 2004 liquidation was the culmination of a long-standing crisis and maintained that the government had little choice but to end the airline’s operations rather than continue providing public funds to sustain it.
The former minister also addressed the controversy over the unpaid pensions and gratuities of former Nigeria Airways workers, revealing that he had attempted to secure government approval for their payment while serving as aviation minister.
Fani-Kayode said a committee chaired by the then Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Yayale Ahmed, recommended that funds be released to settle the former workers’ entitlements.
He disclosed that he subsequently presented a memorandum to the Federal Executive Council in 2006, arguing that the pensioners deserved to be paid. However, he claimed the proposal was rejected after some cabinet members opposed it, arguing that former management teams and board members had contributed to the airline’s collapse.
Fani-Kayode said he disagreed with that position but was among those who lost the debate.
He added that the matter was revisited under the administration of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, which paid many of the affected pensioners, while the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari also made payments.
Commending Keyamo for overseeing the settlement of the remaining outstanding entitlements, Fani-Kayode said the former workers had suffered for years and deserved to receive their benefits.
On Atiku Abubakar’s role in the pension dispute, Fani-Kayode said he knew the position taken by the former Vice-President during the cabinet deliberations but declined to disclose it publicly. He maintained that decisions taken by the Federal Executive Council were collective government decisions and that members of the administration shared responsibility for their outcomes.
Fani-Kayode’s intervention follows Keyamo’s criticism of Atiku over the former Vice-President’s comments on Nigeria’s economic hardship and insecurity. Keyamo had cited the liquidation of Nigeria Airways and the prolonged pension dispute as part of his argument against Atiku.
The exchange has brought renewed attention to the history of Nigeria Airways, the decisions that led to its closure and the long wait by former workers for their retirement benefits.
