‘Hypocrisy At Its Peak’ — Keyamo Fires Atiku Over Nigeria Airways Liquidation

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has criticised former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar over the liquidation of Nigeria Airways in 2004 and the alleged failure of the administration in which he served to settle the pensions and gratuities of the airline’s former workers.

Keyamo’s criticism followed a post by Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, urging Nigerians to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), describing them as instruments for achieving peaceful change through elections.

Atiku had also accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of making life increasingly expensive for Nigerians, promising to restore affordability and provide the level of security citizens deserve.

However, responding to Atiku in a statement posted on X on Wednesday, Keyamo recalled the liquidation of the national carrier under former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration in September 2004, which he said left thousands of workers without jobs and subjected their families to hardship.

“Your Excellency, Atiku Abubakar, this is hypocrisy at its peak! Let me just talk only about the sector that I head, Aviation,” Keyamo said.

The minister alleged that the administration failed to pay the affected workers their pensions and gratuities, which he said amounted to billions of naira.

“To add salt into their wounds, you refused to pay them their pensions and gratuities, running into billions of Naira,” he said.

Keyamo said the Tinubu administration had begun addressing the outstanding liabilities, claiming that the President had approved and released N36 billion to settle the benefits owed to the former workers and provide relief to their families.

“Twenty-two years later, after many of them have died out of frustration, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is now clearing the mess you left behind. Over a month ago, Mr. President approved and released the total sum N36 billion to bring succour to these families,” he said.

According to the minister, some beneficiaries had started receiving payment alerts following the release of the funds.

He added that the workers’ union had recognised Tinubu with an award a few weeks earlier in appreciation of the intervention.

“They have started receiving alerts and praying for Mr. President. In fact, the President was given an Award for this by the workers’ union a few weeks ago,” Keyamo said.

The minister also accused Atiku of inconsistently taking credit for the achievements of the Obasanjo administration while distancing himself from its decisions whenever they attracted criticism.

“Yet you sit down there and pontificate? It’s only the younger ones who don’t know your history you can attempt to hoodwink, but we will expose you to them. You cannot disguise your inordinate ambition in a cloud of rhetorical gibberish,” he said.

Keyamo further challenged the former vice-president’s account of his role in the administration, accusing him of claiming credit when convenient while shifting responsibility to Obasanjo at other times.

“When it is convenient for you, you claim some credit of the Obasanjo-Atiku government and when not convenient, you say Obasanjo was in charge and not you as Vice-President. The proper posturing of a con artist!” he added.