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The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) is struggling under a mounting debt burden of more than N34.69 billion owed by government agencies, airlines, state governments and corporate organisations.
The agency is also owed $49.48 million by foreign debtors.
The disclosure was contained in a letter jointly addressed to the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, by the agency’s in-house unions, urging urgent government intervention to prevent further strain on Nigeria’s air navigation service provider.
The unions; Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE), stated that the situation is crippling the agency’s ability to meet its statutory financial obligations.
They, however, noted that despite NAMA’s worsening financial position, the agency has continued to remit statutory payments to the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet).
According to the unions, the huge unpaid debts have significantly weakened NAMA’s financial capacity, making it increasingly difficult for the agency to discharge its operational and statutory responsibilities.
The letter, which was also copied to the Managing Director of NAMA, Ahmed Farouk, was jointly signed by Oluwole Dada, Branch Chairman of ATSSSAN; Afatakpa Evuarherhe, Branch Chairman of ANAP; Abah Mathias for NUATE; and Tukur M.S.A. for AUPCTRE.
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The unions called on the minister to intervene to ensure the recovery of the outstanding debts, warning that the agency’s financial sustainability and the efficient provision of critical air navigation services could be jeopardised if the situation persists.
According to the unions, the agency paid about N400 million to NiMet between April and June 2026, demonstrating NAMA’s commitment to meeting its statutory obligations under difficult financial conditions. The unions, however, argued that the agency’s liquidity had been severely weakened by huge outstanding debts owed by several organisations.
By April 30, 2026, NAMA was owed over N34.69 billion in domestic receivables and approximately $49.48 million in foreign receivables.
The unions said the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) accounted for the largest domestic debt with N23.94 billion; followed by NAPIMS (Osubi Airport) with N2.05 billion; Arik Air, N2.27 billion; Aero Contractors N1.07 billion; Bauchi State government, N902.87 million; Ogun State government, N465.15 million, Taraba State government (Jalingo Airport), N309.35 million; Merry Aviation N143.38 million and ExxonMobil with N58.46 million. They added that major foreign operators also owed the agency more than $21.84 million, contributing to a total foreign debt profile exceeding $49 million.
The unions further accused the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) of failing to remit NAMA’s statutory share of the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge (TSC) for the past four months, describing the revenue as one of the agency’s principal funding sources.
According to them, the combined effect of unpaid debts and delayed statutory remittances had placed enormous financial pressure on NAMA, which is responsible for providing air traffic management, communication, navigation, surveillance, aeronautical information services and other critical air navigation functions across the country’s airspace. The unions warned that unless the government urgently intervened to recover the debts and release the outstanding TSC, NAMA workers could be compelled to embark on an indefinite industrial action.
The unions urged the Federal Government to direct all debtors to immediately settle verified obligations owed to NAMA, release the agency’s outstanding statutory revenue, establish a sustainable debt recovery mechanism and convene a stakeholders’ meeting involving relevant aviation agencies to resolve the lingering financial disputes.
