President Bola Ahmed 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 disposal of government-owned landed assets.
The development was announced in a statement issued on Thursday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
According to the statement, all matters relating to the committee’s activities will henceforth be coordinated by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi.
The committee was established in 2000 during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to supervise the privatisation, sale and lease of Federal Government landed properties under the government’s monetisation policy.
Its membership comprised the then Minister of Housing as chairperson, alongside 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 the pioneer secretary, while other members were drawn from both the public and private sectors.
The statement recalled that on March 22, 2001, the Federal Executive Council approved the establishment of a Panel of Inquiry to produce a White Paper that would guide the implementation of the committee’s recommendations. The panel reportedly worked for 21 months before submitting its report.
The Presidency explained that the decision to dissolve the committee followed a review of its operations, which revealed that its activities had extended beyond its original mandate, resulting in 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 consequently directed that the Attorney General of the Federation take over coordination of all matters relating to the committee with effect from November 5, 2025.
The statement further 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.