Isaac Samuel
President Bola Tinubu has approved the immediate dissolution of the Presidential Implementation Committee (PIC) on the Alienation of Federal Government Properties, bringing to an end the activities of the committee established over two decades ago to oversee the sale, lease and privatisation of Federal Government landed assets.
The decision was announced in a statement on Thursday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
According to the statement, all matters relating to the activities of the dissolved committee will henceforth be coordinated by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi.
The Presidency said the committee was established in 2000 during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to oversee the privatisation, sale and lease of Federal Government landed assets under the government’s monetisation policy.
It noted that the committee was chaired by the then Minister of Housing and comprised representatives of the Ministries of Transportation, Justice, Health and Agriculture, as well as the Nigeria Police Force. Professor P.T. Ahire, then a Deputy Director in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, served as its pioneer secretary, while other members were drawn from both the public and private sectors.
The statement recalled that the Federal Executive Council, on March 22, 2001, approved the establishment of a Panel of Inquiry to produce a White Paper to guide the implementation of its recommendations. The panel reportedly worked for 21 months before submitting its report.
According to the Presidency, the decision to dissolve the committee followed a review which found that its activities had extended beyond its original mandate, leading to multiple litigations across the country.
“After careful consideration, the Government has noted that the activities of the PIC had extended beyond its original mandate, resulting in multiple litigations across the country, and the continued existence of the Committee is no longer justified,” the statement said.
President Tinubu also directed that the Attorney General of the Federation should coordinate all matters relating to the committee with effect from November 5, 2025.
The President directed the committee’s former Secretary, B. S. Dutsin-Ma, to immediately cease acting on behalf of the dissolved committee and the Federal Government on all related matters.
