Nigeria’s aviation debate has reignited after Minister Festus Keyamo accused former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of hypocrisy over the liquidation of Nigeria Airways in 2004 and the years-long delay in paying former workers’ benefits, according to reports. Keyamo also links the issue to unresolved entitlements that have only recently been addressed.

Femi Fani-Kayode, an Ambassador-designate and former aviation minister, disputes Keyamo’s framing. Responding to Keyamo, he says Olusegun Obasanjo inherited a “mess” in 1999, arguing Nigeria Airways had been effectively destroyed through decades of mismanagement, corruption, heavy debt, and operational failures before the Obasanjo civilian administration returned. Fani-Kayode points to the airline’s reported sharp decline in assets and aircraft condition between 1979 and 1999, and he attributes the 2004 liquidation to chronic insolvency rather than actions taken during Obasanjo’s tenure.

The outlets also describe an internal government dispute around attempts to pay pension and gratuity claims, including a proposal Fani-Kayode says he put forward during Obasanjo’s time that was opposed by some cabinet members. While Keyamo frames the liquidation and benefit delays as connected to Atiku’s role, Fani-Kayode argues the decisions reflected broader, collective government responsibility and that later administrations made partial payments.