“Only Younger Ones Who Don’t Know Your History Can Be Hoodwinked” — Keyamo Says Atiku Refused To Pay Nigeria Airways Pensions For 22 Years, Tinubu Now Paying N36bn

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo (SAN), on Wednesday disclosed that President Bola Tinubu is clearing the mess former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar left behind in the liquidation of Nigeria Airways.

Keyamo, who made the claim in a post on his X account, accused Atiku of “hypocrisy at its peak.” He said the President has released N36 billion to settle workers’ unpaid entitlements.

He was reacting to a message by Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), who blamed the Tinubu administration for the rising cost of living in the country.

Atiku had said “Bola made life expensive” and promised, “I will work to make life affordable again,” while urging registered voters to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

Responding, Keyamo said he would speak only on the sector he heads.

“Let me just talk only about the sector that I head, Aviation,” he wrote.

He recalled that in September 2004, when Atiku was Vice-President, his government liquidated Nigeria Airways, throwing thousands of Nigerians out of jobs.

“In September, 2004, when you were Vice-President, your Government woke up one morning and liquidated Nigeria Airways, throwing thousands of Nigerian out of jobs and into sorrow and pain,” Keyamo said.[s]

The minister said the workers’ suffering did not end there.

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

According to him, Tinubu has now taken on the debt 22 years later.

“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. 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. Yet you sit down there and pontificate? It is 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 stated.

The minister also accused Atiku of picking and choosing when to own the record of the government he served in under former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

“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!” Keyamo said.