ABUJA, Nigeria – Employees of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET) have called off their indefinite strike after a successful intervention by the federal government, ending a disruption that had caused significant operational challenges within the aviation sector.
The workers, who had commenced the strike on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, raised concerns over unresolved welfare issues, including NiMET’s refusal to negotiate or implement agreed-upon financial allowances, unresolved entitlements, wage awards, and peculiar allowances.
They also pointed to outstanding payments linked to the 2019 minimum wage and accused the management of withholding critical documents, ignoring requests to include omitted staff in past payments, and prioritizing executive retreats over essential staff training.
The strike severely impacted the operations of airlines, with domestic carrier Air Peace grounding all its flights across the country due to the unavailability of QNH (hazardous weather) reports, which are crucial for safe landings.
However, the strike was suspended on Thursday, April 24, 2025, following a closed-door meeting between Festus Keyamo, Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, and executives of NiMET.
The successful dialogue led to an agreement that addressed the workers’ concerns, allowing the strike to be called off that evening.
Gbenga Saka, the Special Adviser on Media to the Minister, confirmed the suspension of the strike in a post on X, stating: “The Aviation Union to Suspend Ongoing Strike tonight.”
