President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the immediate dissolution of the Presidential Implementation Committee (PIC) on the Alienation of Federal Government Properties, bringing an end to the body established over two decades ago to oversee the disposal of federal assets.
The President also directed that all matters relating to the committee’s activities be transferred to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, with immediate effect.
The PIC was created in 2000 under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to supervise the privatisation, sale and lease of Federal Government landed assets as part of the government’s monetisation policy.
Its membership was chaired by the Minister of Housing and included 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, alongside members drawn from both the public and private sectors.
On March 22, 2001, the Federal Executive Council approved the establishment of a Panel of Inquiry to produce a White Paper to guide the implementation of its recommendations. The panel worked for 21 months before submitting its report.
According to the Presidency, the committee had over time strayed beyond its original mandate, leading to multiple litigations across the country and rendering its continued existence unjustifiable.
Tinubu therefore ordered the dissolution of the committee and directed the Attorney General to assume responsibility for all matters relating to its activities, with effect from November 5, 2025.
The President also instructed the committee’s former Secretary, B. S. Dutsin-Ma, to immediately cease acting on behalf of the dissolved committee or the Federal Government on any related matters.
The directive was announced in a statement issued on Thursday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, and made available to The News Chronicle.
