By Ayo Ayodele
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 committee established over two decades ago to oversee the privatisation, sale and lease 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 committee’s activities will henceforth be coordinated by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi.
The PIC was established in 2000 during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to supervise the disposal of Federal Government properties under the government’s monetisation policy.
Its membership included the 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 the public and private sectors.
The statement recalled that the Federal Executive Council approved the establishment of a Panel of Inquiry on March 22, 2001, to prepare a White Paper to guide the implementation of its recommendations. The panel reportedly worked for 21 months before submitting its report.
The Presidency said the government found that the committee’s activities had expanded beyond its original mandate, leading to multiple litigations across the country and making its continued existence unjustifiable.
President Tinubu therefore directed that the committee be dissolved, with the Attorney General assuming responsibility for coordinating all outstanding matters related to its activities.
The statement added that the dissolution takes effect immediately, while noting that the President had directed that the Attorney General coordinate the committee’s affairs from November 5, 2025.
It also directed the committee’s erstwhile Secretary, B. S. Dutsin-Ma, to immediately cease acting on behalf of the dissolved committee and the Federal Government on all related matters.