The Nigerian government has cleared nearly 758 billion naira ($473m) in pension arrears owed to almost one million retirees, a pro-government media group has said.

The Tinubu Media Volunteers (TMV) praised the payout on Tuesday, stating that the cleared liabilities covered outstanding pension entitlements dating back to 2007 for 957,045 federal retirees.

In a joint statement, TMV Chairman Chukwudi Enekwechi and Secretary Segun Ogedengbe described the resolution of the legacy debt as a major milestone for public sector workers who had faced decades of delayed benefits passed down across successive administrations.

Ending decades of delay

“Despite the huge backlog of pension arrears inherited by the administration, it has chosen to offset them and put measures in place to alleviate problems associated with pension administration,” the group stated.

“This landmark liquidation of legacy pension arrears is a clear demonstration of statesmanship and represents one element of broader institutional reforms.”

The group also commended the National Pension Commission (PenCom) for introducing its “Zero Waiting Time Policy,” designed to eliminate future payment delays and streamline the processing of retirement benefits for civil servants.

The clearance of the arrears comes amid ongoing civil service administrative reforms aimed at improving social welfare and restoring confidence in the country’s contributory and legacy pension schemes.