The Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA) has commenced a week-long mop-up verification exercise for ex-workers of the former Nigeria Airways, who have not been audited.
Mohammed Dikwa, Permanent Secretary, Special Duties, in a statement signed by Olajide Oshudun, director of information said that the exercise was in furtherance of the Federal government’s commitment to ensure that all former workers of the defunct airways got their benefits.
The Permanent Secretary assured the ex-workers that the Government was committed to paying their dues once they were audited, and advised them to cooperate with the versifiers and ensure that they provided all the documents required for the exercise.
“The Ministry of finance earlier conducted a similar exercise in the six geo-political zones in September, 2018. The latest verification is holding simultaneously in Lagos and Kano, and is meant to ensure that all eligible beneficiaries are audited and paid off their entitlements”.
“However, following continued agitations by the workers for their entitlements, President Muhammadu Buhari, in 2018, approved that all audited staff of the organization should be paid 50% of their severance entitlements,” he said.
Segun Adeleke, Secretary General of Nigeria Airways Pensioners Union, commended the effort of the government, saying that the members would ever remain grateful to the President for coming to the rescue of the ex-Nigerian Airways workers, who had lost hope of receiving anything from the government.
Similarly, the National Vice Chairman of the Union (North), Mohammed Adamu, also commended the efforts of the government noting that only about 500 of the ex-Airways workers would be audited in the mop up, as most of the eligible workers had been audited and paid 50% of their severance package after the earlier exercise in September, last year.
Cynthia Egboboh, Abuja.
