Economy
REVEALED: Real Reasons for Delay in Payment of Ex-Nigeria Airways Workers
By Olusegun Koiki
Daily Independent newspaper has unearthed the real reasons former workers of the defunct Nigerian Airways are yet to receive the severance package despite President Muhammadu giving the approval for the payment.
It was gathered that the conflict between the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) and the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA), a department under the Ministry of Finance, is stalling final payment of severance benefit to ex-workers of the defunct national carrier, Nigeria Airways.
Independent learnt that the conflict between the two government bodies is as a result of who gets the administrative charge from the severance package of the ex-workers.
Recommendations
The inter-ministerial committee raised by the government verified the status of ex-workers of Nigeria Airways and came up with N78 billion benefit for the former staff of the airline. The committee recommended one percent administrative charge of the total sum to be given to any government agency that disburses the money to the ex-workers. This amounted to N735 million.
In its recommendation, the inter-ministerial committee also said that the OAGF should disburse the N78 billion to all the beneficiaries.
However, PICA in its own recommendation to President Muhammadu Buhari reduced the total benefit to N43 billion, but increased the administrative charge to N2.1 billion without recourse to any percentage as recommended by the inter-ministerial committee.
Breakdown Of Benefit
A document seen by Independent revealed the breakdown of the N78 billion benefit thus: serving staff, N20.9 billion; presidential fleet, N1.4 billion; Skypower Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL), N4 billion; retired staff from SAHCOL, N207.7 million; properties, N1 billion and catering, N1.1 billion.
Others are pensioners, N37.3 million; deferred pensioners, N920.5 million; 1988 Group, N6.4 billion; one percent administrative charge, N735 million; one percent mark-up contingencies, N735 million; salary of four retained staff working on the benefit for 12 months, N10.5 million; office running cost at N100,000 monthly for 12 months, N1.2 million and supplementary at N3 billion.
Interest In Administrative Charge
A reliable source told Independent that PICA, which was set up by President Buhari in 2015, few months after coming into office to carry out final verification of any payment by the Federal Government suddenly became interested in payment of the severance package to the former workers of the airline because of the administrative charge involved.
The document revealed that the inter-ministerial committee had recommended the sum of N78 billion as the total severance package for 10 years for the workers, including pension arrears for the period after the physical verification of about 6,000 beneficiaries.
The workers had initially insisted on another 20 years payment of severance package as agreed with the Federal Government in 2009 before the payment of five years of severance package to them by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua in 2009.
PICA in its recommendation to the government slashed the sum to just N43 billion, and expunged the 10 years pension arrears as agreed with the former workers and their unions by the inter-ministerial committee.
Anger
However, sources said the reduction of a massive N35 billion from the recommended and approved N78 billion by the inter-ministerial committee did not go down well with the Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, who insisted that the earlier approved sum must be paid.
A source close to the committee confided in our correspondent that the Federal Government was ready to pay the total sum to the ex-workers who have lost at least 700 of their members since the airline was liquidated in 2013 to avoidable deaths, but PICA is a stumbling block to that payment, which has further put the government in a dilemma.
The source wondered how PICA arrived at the N2.1 billion administrative charge after reducing the total sum to be paid to the ex-workers to N43 billion which represented 45 percent reduction.
“PICA is the only body that is standing between the payment of the final severance package to us and the government. President Buhari has agreed to pay the total sum to us until everything was taken to PICA for final verification.
“PICA without following due process, suddenly reduced our total benefit to just N43 billion, but ironically increased its own administrative charge to N2.1 billion, which is a difference of N1.3 billion. And the government thinks they can come up with a national carrier without first settling us, I think that will be practically impossible.
“Several bodies are ready to take the government to court even outside the country. I can assure you that anywhere their aircraft flies to such an aircraft would be impounded until all debts are settled. We are talking of ex-workers in Europe and several other African countries. Some of them are already in court to ensure their payments. PICA is not helping matters and may make the case worse for impending investors.”
It would be recalled that apart from the Nigerian staff of the airline who are owed pension arrears, outstations like those in Rome, Saudi Arabia, Benin Republic, Cameroon, Dubai and all the French speaking countries in Africa are also yet to benefit from the severance package.
Only staff of the airline in United Kingdom and United States were paid their entitlement of 25 years severance package in full.
The total sum of N29.1 billion, which represented five years severance package was paid to the former workers of the airline by the late Yar’Adua in 2009 after years of agitation by the ex-workers.
Source: Daily Independent
By Dipo Olowookere
The first trading session of this week at Customs Street ended with a marginal 0.03 per cent loss on Monday following profit-taking in financial and energy sectors.
The counters closed lower during the session as investors re-caliberated their portfolios due to the instability in the global financial markets.
The All-Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited was down yesterday by 33.72 points to 104,529.62 points from 104,563.34 points and the market capitalisation depleted by N22 billion to N65.685 trillion from N65.707 trillion.
Business Post reports that the banking index crumbled by 1.99 per cent, the insurance sector depreciated by 0.36 per cent, and the energy counter lost 0.19 per cent, while the consumer goods space improved by 0.08 per cent, with the industrial goods and commodity indices closing flat.
It was observed that despite the disappointing outcome, the market breadth index was positive after the bourse ended with 28 price gainers and 24 price losers, representing a strong investor sentiment.
International Energy Insurance lost 9.76 per cent to trade at N1.48, Consolidated Hallmark shed 8.33 per cent to N2.75, Japaul went down by 7.46 per cent to N1.86, Chams dropped 6.98 per cent to N2.00, and Neimeth eased by 6.94 per cent to N2.68.
Conversely, Abbey Mortgage Bank rose by 9.95 per cent to N6.74, UPDC gained 9.82 per cent to sell for N3.13, Guinea Insurance increased by 9.52 per cent to 69 Kobo, VFD Group jumped by 9.46 per cent to N96.00, and Sovereign Trust Insurance soared by 9.41 per cent to 93 Kobo.
Yesterday, a total of 428.2 million shares worth N10.5 billion exchanged hands in 14,583 deals versus the 380.0 million shares worth N10.1 billion traded in 10,791 deals last Friday, implying a rise in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 12.68 per cent, 3.96 per cent and 35.14 per cent, respectively.
The activity chart was topped by Access Holdings with 56.0 million equities sold for N1.2 billion, Zenith Bank traded 55.4 million stocks valued at N2.8 billion, Fidelity Bank transacted 39.0 million shares worth N725.9 million, UBA exchanged 33.2 million equities valued at N1.0 billion, and GTCO traded 31.0 million stocks for N2.1 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The oil market was slightly up on Monday on the back of exemptions for some electronics from US tariffs and data showing a sharp rebound in China’s crude imports in March.
During the trading session, Brent crude futures improved by 12 cents or 0.2 per cent to $64.88 per barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures grew by 3 cents to trade at $61.53 a barrel.
The President of the United States, Mr Donald Trump, last Friday granted exclusions from steep tariffs on smartphones, computers, and some other electronic goods imported largely from China.
It was the latest in a series of policy announcements that imposed tariffs and then walked them back, spurring uncertainty for investors and businesses.
President Trump later said on Sunday he would announce the tariff rate on imported semiconductors in the coming days.
For the Chinese imports, the exclusion of the tech products applies only to President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which climbed to 125 per cent this week as the prior 20 per cent duties on all Chinese imports that he said were related to the US fentanyl crisis remain in place.
China increased its tariffs on US imports to 125 per cent last Friday, hitting back against the American president’s decision to further raise duties on Chinese goods and increasing the stakes in a trade war that threatens to upend global supply chains.
These developments raise concerns that the trade war could weaken global economic growth and dent fuel demand.
China’s crude oil imports in March rebounded sharply from the previous two months and were up nearly 5 per cent from a year earlier boosted by Iranian oil and a rebound in Russian deliveries.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said in a monthly report on Monday that global oil demand will rise by 1.3 million barrels per day in 2025, down by 150,000 barrels per day from last month’s forecast, citing trade tariffs among the reasons.
Top market analysts like Goldman Sachs and UBS have also cut their forecast.
Goldman Sachs expects Brent to average $63 and WTI to average $59 for the remainder of 2025, with Brent averaging $58 and WTI $55 in 2026 while UBS reduced its Brent forecasts by $12 a barrel to $68.
The US could stop Iranian oil exports as part of President Trump’s plan to pressure Iran over its nuclear programme.
However, Iran and the US held talks in Oman on Saturday and agreed to reconvene next week.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s oil output decreased by 4.1 per cent to 1.40 million barrels per day in March from 1.46 million bpd in the previous month, according to the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
This drop means Nigeria has now produced below its OPEC target for the second consecutive month and far below its 2.06 million targets contained in the 2025 national budget.
This decline could be attributed to attacks on pipelines in Rivers State that led to the declaration of state of emergency and the suspension of democracy in the oil-rich state by President Bola Tinubu.
Last month, Mr Tinubu announced the suspension of Governor Siminilayi Fubara and the State House of Assembly over political crisis in the state. This occurred after an oil facility in the state was attacked. He then appointed a retired military officer, Mr Ibokette Ibas as the sole administrator of Rivers State.
Despite the decline, Nigeria remains the largest oil producer in Africa, surpassing Algeria and Congo, which produce 909,000 barrels per day and 263,000 barrels per day, respectively.
However, according to data sourced from secondary sources, OPEC said Nigeria produced 1.51 million barrels per day in March as against 1.54 million barrels per day in February.
OPEC’s report also showed that crude production by the wider OPEC+ fell in March by 37,000 barrels per day to 41.02 million barrels per day due in part to reductions by Nigeria and Iraq.
“Total DoC crude oil production averaged 41.02 mb/d in March 2025, which is 37 tb/d lower, m-o-m,” OPEC said.
On April 12, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said the country’s oil production decreased to 1,400,783 barrels per day in March.
Although oil output dropped in March, NUPRC said the average crude oil production is 93 per cent of the 1.5 million barrels per day quota set for Nigeria by OPEC.
NUPRC adds condensates to its estimates, which are exempted by OPEC in its calculations.
On April 4, the OPEC and its allies decided to increase oil production by 411,000 barrels per day in May — amid declining oil prices.
OPEC also cut its 2025 global oil demand growth forecast on Monday for the first time since December, citing the impact of data received for the first quarter and trade tariffs announced by the United States.
OPEC forecasts that world oil demand would rise by 1.30 million barrels per day in 2025 and by 1.28 million barrels per day in 2026. Both forecasts are down 150,000 barrels per day from last month’s figures.
US President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs as well as a plan for higher output by OPEC+ have put downward pressure on oil prices this month and raised concern about economic growth.
In its monthly report report, OPEC lowered its world economic growth forecast this year to 3.0 per cent from 3.1 per cent and reduced next year’s to 3.1 per cent from 3.2 per cent.
Last month, OPEC said trade concerns would contribute to volatility but had kept forecasts steady, saying the global economy would adjust. However, that appears to have changed with recent developments.
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