by Christiana Gokyo, Jos

Plateau State Task Force for the “Recovering of Government Properties” from the immediate past administration has disclosed that, it has received over 50 petitions from whistle blowers, excluding information from MDAs and the general public concerning individuals, who may be in custody of government property illegally. This was revealed by Chairman of the Task Force, Issac Wadak.

The Task Force was set up by the Plateau State Governor, Barr. Caleb Mutfwang, with the mandate to Identify, Locate and Recover Government Property purported to have been illegally Auctioned, Boarded or Possessed.

While addressing newsmen recently, in Jos, on the progress made so far after their inauguration on June 6th 2023, Mr. Isaac Wadak noted that, the aim of the Task Force was not to witch-hunt anybody but to safeguard the collective patrimony of Plateau people.

He said, the Task Force has interfaced with MDAs and has received inventories and reports of all landed property, equipment, moveable and immovable assets, including vehicles and machinery.

The chairman added that, “Information so far received indicates that there are illegal allocations of Government lands and buildings in some parts of Local Government Areas of the state, especially within Jos North and Jos South.

According to him, “These properties have either not been properly documented, or have been illegally allocated or sold. The Task Force was furnished with a comprehensive list of vehicles bought by Government between 2015 and 2023. 

“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.”

While explaining that the Task Force was preparing to enter the phase of verification from locations and persons where information has so far been received, he noted that, “This is to authenticate the viability of every information and to recover where necessary.”

He advised those in possession of allocated/boarded or auctioned government property to furnish the Task Force with evidence, and advised those with property that are at various stages of development to stop until the exercise is completed.

He appreciated the cooperation it has been receiving from the public and the media, and strongly advised the public to discountenance any information that is not coming directly from the Task Force.