The ongoing final severance payment process for the former workers of the defunct Nigeria Airways has attracted a large crowd of the ex-staff and their next-of-kin at the Skypower premises at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos.
The process, which is in its last stage, is expected to benefit over 5,000 staff of the defunct Nigeria Airways.
Speaking during the exercise, the Director, Presidential initiative Continuos Audit (PICA) in the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Seldam Dangin, said they were making a huge payment to the former workers, while claims involving deceased workers and their next-of-kin are still undergoing verification.
It was gathered that verification of the next-of-kin of deceased former employees commenced last week across the six geopolitical zones of the country.
Dangin further disclosed that the verification exercise is aimed at establishing the identities and eligibility of the next-of-kin before the processing and payment of the outstanding severance benefits due to them.
He said the exercise is coordinated by the Federal Ministry of Finance as part of efforts to conclude the long-running payment process and ensure that all eligible beneficiaries receive their entitlements.
A beneficiary of the exercise, said that the government was committed to ensuring that both surviving former employees and the rightful next-of-kin of deceased beneficiaries were covered, subject to the completion of the required verification and documentation.
In response to a question, Dangin further said that the Ministry of Finance, through this action, was determined to conduct the exercise in a transparent, orderly, and accountable manner to facilitate the successful conclusion of the final payment process.
The commencement of the verification exercise across the six geopolitical zones is expected to help establish the claims of beneficiaries who could not receive their entitlements before the death of the former employees.
He said: “As you can see, the final process has commenced. In the Lagos zone alone, we have thousands of the former workers who have stormed the Skypower premises for verification of their documents. Things are going on peacefully.”
“The Ministry of Finance is doing the due diligence to ensure that everyone is captured in this last exercise. We are very hopeful that the process will end well,” he added.