Tinubu Scraps 25-Year-Old Federal Property Privatisation Committee, Hands Powers to AGF

President Bola Tinubu has approved the dissolution of the Presidential Implementation Committee (PIC) on the Alienation of Federal Government Properties, bringing to an end the operations of the 25-year-old body established during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The President also directed that all responsibilities previously handled by the committee be transferred to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi.

The directive was conveyed in a statement issued on Thursday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

According to the Presidency, the dissolution took effect from November 5, 2025, while the committee’s Secretary, B. S. Dutsin-Ma, has been instructed to immediately stop representing both the committee and the Federal Government on matters relating to its activities.

The Presidency explained that the decision followed a comprehensive review of the committee’s operations, which found that it had exceeded the scope of the responsibilities for which it was originally created.

According to the statement, the expanded activities of the committee had triggered numerous legal disputes across the country, making its continued existence unnecessary.

“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 read.

The Presidential Implementation Committee was established in 2000 under President Olusegun Obasanjo to supervise the sale, lease and privatisation of Federal Government landed properties as part of the administration’s monetisation policy.

The policy formed a major component of the Federal Government’s public sector reform programme, which sought to replace non-cash benefits such as official residences and government vehicles with monetary compensation for public servants while disposing of government-owned assets.

The committee was chaired by the Minister of Housing and included representatives from 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 (SGF), served as its pioneer secretary.

On March 22, 2001, the Federal Executive Council approved the establishment of a Panel of Inquiry to prepare a White Paper that would guide the implementation of the committee’s recommendations.

The panel spent 21 months carrying out its assignment before submitting its report.

Although the monetisation policy became one of the landmark reforms of the Obasanjo administration, its implementation remained contentious for years.

The disposal of government properties generated widespread disputes over property valuation, allegations that public assets were sold below market value, claims that politically connected individuals benefited from irregular transactions, and numerous court cases challenging aspects of the exercise.

With the latest directive, all outstanding responsibilities relating to the alienation of Federal Government properties will now be handled by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.