ATSSSAN Calls For Final Settlement Of Benefits Of Ex-Nigeria Airways Staff
Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) has called for final settlement of approved ₦36,000,000,000.00 of ex-staff of Nigeria Airways Limited “unconscionably locked in the bureaucratic ineptitude of the Federal Ministry of Finance.”
In a speech delivered by ATSSSAN President, Comrade Ogbe John to mark the 2026 Workers’ May Day celebration, ATSSSAN reiterated “the call on His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, to please, in his merciful mind, redirect the Honorable Minister of Finance to implement the approval he graciously granted in May 2025 and conveyed to the Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development in June, for the settlement of the outstanding exit benefits of the Ex-Nigeria Airways staff. Our senior citizens continue to die in their closets without receiving their benefits themselves, while their approved ₦36,000,000,000.00 is unconscionably locked in the bureaucratic ineptitude of the Federal Ministry of Finance.”
Ogbe noted that “our Naira is still sick. Food goes up but salaries too, is not flying, but often stay on the ground. The aviators are suffering in silence. We demand a living wage that tends towards the quantum of the risks we take and the cost of living in 2026.”
He said “the airport should be a no-go area for casual workers experimentation. Contract staffing too must systematically be phased out with conscious planning for replacement by succession through career progression. ATSSSAN’s motto is “Dignity and Safety”. If there must be safety in the sky, there must be dignity of labour in the industry. Aviation workers deserve better treatment, and we are prepared to ensure that.”
ATSSSAN also called on the federal government of Nigeria’s to intervene on the perennial crisis associated with the non-availability of Aviation Fuel – Jet-A-1, saying it “has become overwhelmingly worrisome since the escalation of the ongoing Gulf War. This has regrettably made the aviation business become a potentially endangered species in our economic mix. We hereby earnestly urge the Federal Government to urgently engage the stakeholders in the industry to fashion out a credible intervention for the escalating price of Jet A-1. The sky must be kept safe, and Nigerians must continue to fly, especially in the face of our insecurity on our roads.”
The association equally encouraged “all the organizations that are yet to allow industrial democracy in their companies to do so without further delay. Unionization is a right, struggled for, and guaranteed by section 40 of the Nigeria 1999 Constitution as amended and other international laws and treaties. Aviators should not be made to beg to enjoy the right to belong to a union of their choice. Henceforth, I promise not to allow this right to be violated with impunity by participants in our industry.
We shall, however, always endeavour to collaborate with the Operators in this industry to grow their businesses in the collective interest. We also call on our supervising ministry and the Federal Ministry of Labour to be alive to their oversight function to all employers of labour in the aviation industry in Nigeria.”
Ogbe said to management and government, “We are not asking for luxury. We are asking for fairness. Pay us on time. Insure us fully. Listen when we report safety issues. Because when an airport worker is tired, overworked, underpaid, or ignored, every passenger is at risk. If all the above is genuinely adhered to, we may, to an extent, be able to allay the fear of this year’s May Day Theme that says: Insecurity and Poverty: The Bane of Decent Work.”
“As we mark this year’s Workers’ Day, I salute every shift you have covered, every delay you have managed, every life you have helped save without cameras watching. Nigeria moves because you do not stop,” he said, adding that “when passengers sleep in the aircraft, the air traffic controller is awake. When families reunite at arrivals, it’s because baggage handlers, cleaners, and check-in staff did their job. When planes land safely in rain or harmattan, it’s because engineers, the fire service, and the ground crew refused to cut corners.
AVSEC security screeners stand for hours, and the customer service agents handle delays with a smile. You all are the Airport. Without you, there is no aviation. No takeoff. No landing. No connection!.”
