Keyamo gives airlines one week to present debt repayment plans

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has given airlines a seven‑day deadline to submit structured repayment plans for outstanding statutory debts, following an emergency meeting with stakeholders on Thursday.

The directive, issued through the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority and other aviation agencies, requires the Directors of Finance and Accounts in each agency to sit with individual airlines and negotiate a realistic payment schedule that considers their operating costs and the current economic environment.

The meeting was convened as a follow‑up to earlier engagements with aviation unions, which had suspended a planned strike on Tuesday, August 11, after talks with the government.

In a statement by Permanent Secretary Mahmud Kambari, the ministry said the session was aimed at resolving the underlying disputes that had triggered the labour action.

On unionisation, Keyamo was firm: workers must have the freedom to decide for themselves whether to join a union, without pressure from management. He directed the NCAA to grant unions direct access to airline employees for the sole purpose of distributing forms for workers to indicate their preference. Any carrier that obstructs this process, he warned, would face sanctions.

“The NCAA and other aviation agencies are to obtain a schedule of payments from the airlines, spread over a reasonable timeframe, taking into account operational costs and current economic realities,” Keyamo said.

He added: “The Directors of Finance and Accounts in all aviation agencies are to meet with individual airlines to agree on a realistic repayment plan within one week. The minister recognises the right of workers to decide for themselves whether or not to belong to a union.”

The NCAA has been instructed to ensure unions have direct access to all airline workers solely for the distribution of unionisation forms. Airlines that interfere will be penalised.

The parties agreed to reconvene in one month to assess progress and review the situation. The resolutions, according to the ministry, were reached by consensus among all stakeholders.