By Adesina Wahab, Joseph Erunke and Matthew Johnson
The Federal Government on Wednesday ruled out any reversal of its decision to concession the management of King’s College, Lagos, to the institution’s Old Boys Association, as policemen took over the school premises following days of protests over the arrangement.
Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said the concession was aimed at addressing longstanding infrastructure and management challenges at the college, insisting that the Federal Government would retain ownership of the institution.
The minister spoke in Abuja while briefing journalists against the backdrop of the continuing protests by workers of the Federal Ministry of Education and their unions over the proposed concession and the closure of some Federal Unity Colleges.
Meanwhile, policemen drawn from various formations in Lagos State took over the premises of King’s College, Onikan, on Wednesday.
The development came a day after parents protesting the concession had an altercation with policemen and members of the King’s College Old Boys Association, KCOBA.
As of Wednesday morning, the protesters were no longer seen around the main gate, while roads leading to the school were cordoned off by police vehicles and officers.
Vehicles approaching from the Tafawa Balewa Square end and heading towards CMS Bus Stop were diverted to alternative routes.
At about 11am, members of KCOBA, including its National President, Ibrahim Kassim Imam, and former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Mr Olumide Akpata, arrived at the school for a meeting on the concession arrangement.
Briefing journalists after the meeting, the KCOBA executive committee, led by Imam, assured stakeholders that the college would be run in accordance with the principles upon which Federal Unity Colleges were established.
“We are saying it again that we are not going to turn the college to an elitist one. We will run it in line with the principles behind the setting up of unity colleges and their operation.
“In fact, that is contained in the agreement we signed for the concession. To say we are buying it is wrong. There is no willing seller or buyer of King’s College. The Federal Government is not selling, while KCOBA is not buying,” Imam said.
He said previous interventions by old boys to rehabilitate and renovate facilities at the college had been undermined by vandalism and poor maintenance.
“Our agreement with the Federal Government is open for public scrutiny. We are open to scrutiny by the public and we want the government to also look into how the school has been run so far,” he said.
Imam also said KCOBA would ensure that every state of the federation was represented in the college in line with the principle of federal character.
He assured stakeholders that school fees would not be increased under the arrangement.
On funding, Imam said even if half of the proposed N100 billion endowment fund was realised, it would be invested to generate sustainable revenue for the running of the institution.
He added that many old students were prepared to contribute to the fund once the concession took effect.
The Secretary of KCOBA, Etigwe Uwa, SAN, recalled his experience as a student of the college, saying the institution had provided him with an opportunity to interact with people from different parts of the country.
“I cannot be part of a system that would deny people a platform to fly. King’s College gave me such a platform and I have to extend same to others, but we must first save the college from its deplorable state,” Uwa said.
Chairman of the KCOBA Week Planning Committee, Sir Gbolahan Oluyomi, also spoke about his efforts to support the digitisation of teaching and learning at the college, which he said were unsuccessful.
Akpata, a former NBA president, accused some individuals of allegedly misinforming the public about the concession.
“It is not correct to say we are not carrying the parents and staff along. They were always part of the meetings called by the ministry and our own meetings here,” he said.
Akpata said he and members of his set had wept after seeing the state of facilities at the college during a reunion visit.
A Vice-President of KCOBA, Rotimi Aladesanmi, also alleged that the principle of federal character had been undermined by what he described as admission racketeering at the college.
‘Government will not sell Unity Colleges’
In Abuja, Alausa said the Federal Government had no plan to sell any of the Federal Unity Colleges.
“The Federal Government is not selling any Unity College. The Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Education, does not have intention to sell any Unity College, and we will not sell any Unity College,” he said.
He explained that the government was considering alternative approaches to improving infrastructure and management because of the funding gap facing the education sector.
According to him, the infrastructure deficit in Federal Unity Colleges had accumulated over several decades and could not be addressed solely through conventional government funding.
“It is only if Mr President gives us, myself and the Minister of State, two trillion naira today, it will not be enough to fix our Unity Colleges,” Alausa said.
The minister said his visit to King’s College showed that while some sections of the school were clean, the overall infrastructure was old and required significant rehabilitation.
He rejected the argument that concessioning the institution amounted to selling government property, stressing that ownership would remain with the Federal Government.
Alausa also accused some directors in the ministry of allegedly instigating workers against the government’s policy, saying the government had intelligence identifying officials allegedly involved in mobilising staff against the concession.
“It’s obvious now that some directors in the Ministry of Education are instigating their staff. We have intelligence to show us some directors in the Ministry of Education that are instigating their staff,” he said.
He said the government had engaged the unions and reached a six-point agreement intended to resolve the dispute and pave the way for workers to return to their offices.
He, however, said another faction of the protesting workers had failed to meet conditions set by the ministry for further engagement.
Alausa said the government recognised the right of workers to protest but insisted that such protests must be conducted within the law.
“To maintain peace and harmony, we will not allow people to take laws into their own hands. This is a responsible government. We have given them all the room and scope for them to do their protests within the ambit of the law. There is a limit to government patience,” he said.
The minister also dismissed claims being circulated by some workers and unions over the dispute as misinformation.
Meanwhile, the Federal Unity Colleges remained shut on Wednesday amid the continuing industrial dispute.
Concession to run for 25 years
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad, said the Federal Government remained open to dialogue with the unions but insisted that normalcy must first return to the ministry.
Ahmad said one of the major issues surrounding the resistance to the concession appeared to be opposition to change and reluctance by some stakeholders to move away from existing arrangements.
She disclosed that the proposed concession of King’s College would run for 25 years.
According to her, the period was considered necessary to enable the concessionaire to establish sustainable management structures and systems and allow the government to assess the effectiveness of the arrangement.
The dispute over King’s College and the broader management of Federal Unity Colleges continues to generate tension between the Ministry of Education and its workers, with the unions maintaining their objections to the government’s proposed reforms.
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