Plateau Task Force on Recovery of Govt’s Property Receives 50 Petitions

Seriki Adinoyi in Jos

Plateau State Task Force on Recovery of Government’s Property said it has received 50 petitions and reiterated its stand against witch-hunt.

Addressing the press, Chairman of the Task Force set up by the state government with the mandate to identify, locate and recover government property purported to have been illegally auctioned, boarded, or possessed, Mr. Isaac Wadak, reiterated that the aim of the task force was not to witchhunt anybody but to safeguard the collective patrimony of Plateau people.

Wadak said the task force has interfaced with Ministries, Development and Agencies (MDAs) and has received inventories and reports of all landed property, equipment, moveable and immovable assets including vehicles and machinery.

He said that the task force has received over 50 petitions from whistle-blowers excluding information from MDAs and from the general public concerning individuals who may be in the custody of government property illegally.

The chairman said: “Information so far received indicates that there are illegal allocations of government lands and buildings in some part of LGAs, especially within Jos North and Jos South.

“These properties have either not been properly documented, or have been illegally allocated or sold.”

Wadak noted that on vehicles, the task force was furnished with a comprehensive list of vehicles bought by government between 2015 and 2023.

He added that the status and whereabouts of these vehicles were clearly captured including the procedure guiding boarding of vehicles and the category of officers qualified to be allocated vehicles at the end of their tenure, beneficiaries are clearly spelt out and reflected via EXCO resolution of June 14, 2018.

The chairman further explained that the task force was preparing to enter the phase of verification from locations and persons where information has so far been received.

“This is to authenticate the viability of every information and to recover where necessary,” he said.

While urging those in possession of allocated/boarded or auctioned government property to furnish the task force with evidence, Wadak further advised those with property that are at various stages of development to stop until the exercise is completed.