Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has accused former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of hypocrisy over the liquidation of Nigeria Airways in 2004 and the alleged failure of the administration he served in to pay former employees their pensions and gratuities.
In a press release addressed to Atiku on social media, Keyamo mentioned the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo liquidated the nationwide service in September 2004, leaving 1000’s of Nigerians jobless and inflicting hardship for affected employees and their households.
“Your Excellency, Atiku Abubakar, this is hypocrisy at its peak! Let me just talk only about the sector that I head, Aviation,” Keyamo mentioned.
He alleged that the federal government didn’t pay the previous employees’ pensions and gratuities, which he mentioned 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 mentioned.
Keyamo mentioned President Bola Tinubu’s administration was now addressing the excellent funds, claiming that the President had authorized and launched N36 billion to offer reduction to the affected employees and their households.
“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 mentioned.
According to Keyamo, the beneficiaries had begun receiving fee alerts, whereas the employees’ union had recognised Tinubu with an award for the intervention just a few weeks earlier.
“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,” he mentioned.
The aviation minister additional accused Atiku of taking credit score for choices made by the Obasanjo administration when handy whereas distancing himself from accountability at different instances.
“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,” Keyamo mentioned.
He added, “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!”
Boluwatife Enome
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