The Federal Government has begun paying N18bn in outstanding severance benefits to 2,700 former workers of the defunct Nigeria Airways, more than two decades after the national carrier was liquidated.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed this on Friday at a press briefing at the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja.

Oyedele said 2,100 former workers covered by batches one to seven had already received their payments, while 600 beneficiaries in batches eight and nine had been cleared for payment.

“Altogether, this represents N18bn in benefits for 2,700 former workers,” he said.

The minister said some of the affected workers had aged significantly while waiting for their entitlements, while others had died, leaving their families to pursue the outstanding payments.

“For more than two decades, following the liquidation of Nigeria Airways, many former employees have waited for their outstanding severance benefits. Some have grown old waiting. Some have sadly passed away, leaving their families to pursue what was legitimately due to them,” Oyedele said.

He said the payment was being made following a directive from President Bola Tinubu to settle the long-standing obligation.

Oyedele said the settlement could not erase the hardship caused by more than two decades of waiting, but the government considered it necessary to settle the inherited liability rather than allow it to remain outstanding.

“We recognise that no payment today can fully compensate for more than two decades of waiting, but it is important that government confronts these long-standing obligations rather than allowing them to remain unresolved for another generation,” he added.

He said the payment was part of the Federal Government’s wider efforts to clear verified inherited obligations, including outstanding liabilities to pensioners and indigenous contractors.

According to him, the former Nigeria Airways workers underwent a comprehensive verification process involving biometric capture and validation of their personal and banking details to ensure that only genuine beneficiaries received the payments.

The minister said the government would conduct further verification to resolve cases involving outdated records, incorrect bank details and deceased beneficiaries whose next of kin or estates must complete the required processes.

On whether the payments had been adjusted for inflation after more than two decades, Oyedele said the government was settling the obligations based on the amounts documented and verified.