Presidency says committee’s activities expanded beyond original mandate, triggered multiple litigations
President Bola Tinubu has approved the immediate dissolution of the Presidential Implementation Committee (PIC) on the Alienation of Federal Government Properties.
Under the directive, matters relating to the activities of the committee will henceforth be coordinated by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN.
The development was disclosed by the Presidency in a statement issued by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
According to the Presidency, the decision followed a review of the committee’s activities, which the government said had extended beyond its original mandate and resulted in multiple litigations across the country.
The government consequently concluded that the continued existence of the committee was no longer justified.
The Presidency said the President directed the dissolution of the PIC and transferred responsibility for coordinating matters arising from its activities to the Attorney-General of the Federation.
The committee’s erstwhile Secretary, B. S. Dutsin-Ma, was also directed to cease acting on behalf of the committee and the Federal Government in matters relating to its former activities.
The PIC was established in 2000 during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo as part of the Federal Government’s monetisation policy.
Its mandate included overseeing the privatisation, sale and lease of Federal Government landed assets.
The committee emerged from a process that began in March 2001, when the Federal Executive Council approved the establishment of a panel of inquiry to produce a White Paper that would guide the implementation of its recommendations.
The panel reportedly worked for 21 months before submitting its report.
The PIC’s membership included the then Minister of Housing as chairman, alongside representatives from the Ministries of Transportation, Justice, Health and Agriculture, as well as the Nigeria Police Force.
A Deputy Director in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, P. T. Ahire, served as the committee’s pioneer Secretary, while additional members were drawn from the public and private sectors.
The dissolution effectively ends the committee’s role in handling matters concerning the alienation of federal government properties, with the Federal Government now placing the coordination of such matters under the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
The Presidency said the decision was taken after careful consideration of the committee’s activities and their implications, particularly the legal disputes that have arisen across the country.
The move places responsibility for the affected matters within the Federal Government’s central legal and justice framework as the administration seeks to bring greater coordination to issues concerning federal government properties.
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