The verification for the payment of retirement and severance packages of ex-Nigeria Airways workers is being marred by irregularities. The final verification for over 4,000 ex-workers of the defunct national carrier commenced across the country on Monday, following an announcement by the Federal Government that it had approved N22.68bn out of the N45bn owed them.
A few days ago, the Ministry of Finance had issued a statement saying the beneficiaries would be subjected to biometric data capture before the payment of the 50 per cent fund approved by the Federal Government. The exercise at the Lagos centre, taking place at Sky-Power Catering, Murtala Muhammed Airport, has been chaotic since it began.
As of Tuesday evening, less than 120 out of the 4,000 people had been verified due to poor logistics, leaving many of the elderly retirees restive. A daily list was prepared for the exercise to make it orderly, but the retirees, who were supposed to have been verified on Monday, were moved to Tuesday, and by Tuesday evening, many of them were still waiting.
Some of the ex-workers, who spoke with our correspondent under the condition of anonymity, said the officials had complained that they had no back-up power supply and that the printers were not working properly. One of them said, “The whole arrangement is chaotic and logistics is very poor and traumatising. Most of the people here are over 70 years old, so you can imagine subjecting them to this kind of situation.
“On Monday, nothing could happen; people spent the whole of the day here but there was no power back-up for whatever they were doing; they claimed that the server was not working. Nobody was verified yesterday (Monday). We are here again today and it is the same situation; there is no order, people are standing at the doors and everywhere, no form of order.
“Today (Tuesday), they are claiming that the printers are not working when there is so much to do. They are not attending to people and many people are becoming restive and unruly. I was supposed to be screened yesterday but I am still here and it is looking like it won’t be possible today.”
Another retiree stated that some of the people who were supposed to be screened on Tuesday had been asked to come back today (Wednesday) for an exercise expected to end on Sunday. “Please take the message to the Federal Government that the people they sent here are incompetent and very disorganised. There is no organised approach for the screening, and the officials are few for over 4,000 people,” he said.
The ex-workers said the actual date when the payment would begin had also not been communicated to them. “We don’t know when the actual payment is going to start; there is no statement from anywhere,” one of them told our correspondent. PUNCH
Pix: Defunct Nigeria Airways plane
