Tinubu dissolves PIC, says committee no longer justified

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the immediate dissolution of the Presidential Implementation Committee (PIC) on the Alienation of Federal Government Properties.

A statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, disclosed that “henceforth, all matters relating to the activities of the committee will be coordinated by the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (HAGF)”.

The statement stated that the mandate given to the Minister of Justice to coordinate the activities of the disbanded PIC took effect from November 5, 2025.

Explaining the reason for the dissolution, Onanuga said the Federal Government had concluded that the committee’s mandate was no longer necessary.

“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.

The PIC 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.

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. Other members were drawn from both the public and private sectors.

The statement recalled that “on March 22, 2001, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) 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.”

The statement further directed the erstwhile Secretary of the PIC, B. S. Dutsin-Ma, to cease acting on behalf of the committee and the Federal Government on related matters.