Nigerian government is ready to pay the N45 billion pension arrears owned the over 5,000 defunct Nigeria Airways staff, minister of state for aviation, Hadi Sirika, says.
Sirika said there was no need to close down the economy since approval for payment would be made immediately after the Easter break.
Speaking at the fourth Aviation Stakeholder Forum in Abuja on Thursday, the minister said the delay in the payment was due to the Easter break that had halted the Senate from approving the payment till after the holiday.
“The House of Representatives has passed the payment, the Senate says it will pass it after the Easter break. So, there is no need to close down the economy of the country.
“You don’t need to close the airspace, in this hard times we have been able to raise N45 billion to pay for the pension arrears own the workers,” he said, adding that government was committed to the welfare of workers.
On March 19, unions in the aviation sector alongside the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) as well as the United Labour Congress (ULC) had given the Federal Government a 14-day ultimatum to pay the pension arrears or face strike action.
The unions decried the delay in the payment of N45 billion, which they said was approved by the Federal Government 10 months ago for payment of pension and other entitlement of over 5,000 workers of the defunct Nigeria Airways.
