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Fani-Kayode says Nigeria Airways was already virtually dead when Obasanjo returned to power in 1999.
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He recalls that the airline had declined from 32 functional aircraft in 1979 to just one non-functional aircraft by 1999.
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The former Aviation Minister says Obasanjo had little option but to liquidate the airline after failed attempts to revive it.
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Fani-Kayode also reveals his 2006 cabinet battle over payment of Nigeria Airways workers’ pensions and says he knows where Atiku stood on the issue.
October 15, (THEWILL) – Nigeria’s Ambassador to South Africa and former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, has defended former President Olusegun Obasanjo over the liquidation of Nigeria Airways, saying the airline had been crippled by years of mismanagement, corruption and mounting debts before Obasanjo’s return to power in 1999.
Fani-Kayode was reacting to Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo’s criticism of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over the fate of former Nigeria Airways workers, following the Federal Government’s recent payment of outstanding pensions and gratuities.
Keyamo had on Wednesday challenged Atiku over his criticism of the Tinubu administration’s handling of economic hardship and insecurity, accusing him of hypocrisy and drawing attention to the liquidation of Nigeria Airways in 2004.
According to Keyamo, the administration in which Atiku served as Vice-President liquidated the national carrier, leaving thousands of workers without jobs and with pensions and gratuities unpaid for years.
He said some former employees died while waiting for their entitlements.
Keyamo said President Tinubu had approved and released N36 billion to address outstanding obligations to the former workers, with beneficiaries already receiving payments.
The minister also accused Atiku of attempting to claim credit for the achievements of the Obasanjo administration when politically convenient while distancing himself from controversial decisions taken by the same government.
But Fani-Kayode, who served as Aviation Minister under Obasanjo in 2006, entered the dispute on Thursday, defending the former President against attempts to hold him responsible for the destruction of Nigeria Airways.
Fani-Kayode said the national carrier was already virtually ruined by the time Obasanjo returned to power as civilian President in 1999.
“In fairness to President Obasanjo the Nigeria Airways ‘mess’, as you have described it, was established before he came back to power in 1999. And it was indeed a mess but it was not of Obasanjo’s making! He met it there after he was sworn in and what he found broke his heart,” he wrote in a post on X.
According to Fani-Kayode, Nigeria Airways had 32 functional aircraft when Obasanjo handed over power as military Head of State in 1979.
He said the airline at the time had experienced pilots and crew, a competent management team and an accountable board, describing it as “the pride of the nation.”
The situation, he said, had dramatically deteriorated by the time Obasanjo returned to power 20 years later.
“By the time Obasanjo came back to power in 1999, 20 years later, there was only one plane left and it was not functional. The rest had vanished together with virtually all of the company’s assets,” Fani-Kayode said.
He blamed successive management teams and boards between 1979 and 1999 for the carrier’s collapse, citing corruption, mismanagement and the depletion of its assets.
Fani-Kayode said the airline had become chronically insolvent and operationally crippled, while attempts to rescue it failed.
He recalled that the International Finance Corporation had been involved in efforts concerning its privatisation but later withdrew.
According to him, the Obasanjo administration eventually concluded that continuously pumping taxpayers’ money into the airline was no longer sustainable.
“This is why Obasanjo liquidated it in 2004 and I believe that he had no choice. There was nothing left to save even though it was a painful decision given the fact that he was one of those who had done so much for that company when he was Military Head of State,” he said.
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Fani-Kayode, however, acknowledged that the fate of Nigeria Airways workers became a major unresolved issue after the liquidation.
He recalled that a committee headed by then Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Yayale Ahmed, recommended the release of funds to settle outstanding pension obligations.
According to him, he subsequently presented a memorandum to the Federal Executive Council in 2006 seeking approval for payment to the former workers.
The proposal, he said, triggered disagreement within the cabinet.
Fani-Kayode said some ministers opposed the proposal on the grounds that former management officials and board members considered responsible for the airline’s destruction should not benefit from pension payments.
“I did not share that view but sadly I and those that supported me were in a minority and we lost the debate,” he said.
The former minister said the issue was later revisited by the administration of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, which paid most of the affected pensioners, while the Muhammadu Buhari administration subsequently made further payments.
He commended Keyamo for pursuing the remaining obligations under the Tinubu administration.
“It is gratifying that under your leadership the remainder of the pensions have been paid. I only wish we had done that when we were in office. The pensioners suffered immensely over the years. I have always maintained that paying them was the right thing to do,” Fani-Kayode said.
Significantly, Fani-Kayode said he knew the position Atiku took during the Federal Executive Council debate over the workers’ payments but declined to disclose it.
“As for His Excellency Waziri @atiku I know what side of the divide he was during that debate in council but I will not share that publicly because whatever decision was finally taken was a collective one,” he said.
He maintained that all members of the administration must accept collective responsibility for decisions reached by the council.
Felix Ifijeh is a journalist with years of professional reporting experience. Known for his keen news sense, compelling storytelling and commitment to accurate, impactful reporting, he has built a reputation for turning leads into clear, engaging, and well-structured reports that resonate with readers. His work reflects deep newsroom experience and a commitment to accurate, impactful journalism.
