FG Gives Dana Ultimatum To Compensate Crash Victims

Following delay in payment of compensation to victims of the June 3, 2012 plane crash, the Federal Government, yesterday, gave Dana Airline a six-month ultimatum to pay the claims of the families of the crash or face sanction.

Giving the ultimatum at the 2013 Ministerial Platform in Abuja, Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, said the airline had paid up to 60 per cent of the claims to the victims’ families, but experienced a delay due to double claims that needed to be clarified.

“Dana has actually done very well in terms of compensating accident victims. The challenge Dana has is that of multiple claims, which made it difficult to ascertain who should collect.

“And until they are able to do that, they will not pay multiple claims and we will continue verifying and re-verifying, to ascertain who should be the next of kin to claim the money. But I know Dana has done up to 60 per cent.

“However, Dana is given up to December, if they fail to pay completely, we would have to sanction them, they are aware of that, so I am sure they are accelerating the process,” Oduah said.

She said the sector had put up some strategies to ensure that air accidents became things of the past in Nigeria.

Oduah said the government was rendering additional assistance to families of victims of the air crash, adding that the approval of the Victim Family Insurance Package, VFAP, had been secured from the Nigerian Insurance Commission, NAICOM.