The workers vowed to continue their protest and threatened to block the resumption of Federal Unity Colleges across the country until the Federal Government addresses their objections to the proposed 35-year concession of the prestigious Lagos school.
The development came barely 24 hours after the Federal Government and the TUC announced an agreement that was expected to end the dispute and pave the way for the immediate reopening of all Federal Unity Colleges.
Instead, schools remained closed in several states on Tuesday, exposing a widening disagreement between the government, the TUC and the unions directly involved in the protest.
Workers reject TUC suspension
Speaking during a protest at the Federal Ministry of Education in Abuja, where demonstrators barricaded the ministry’s entrance, Chairman of the Joint Workers Council, Abraham Onuche, said the workers would not recognise the TUC’s decision to suspend the industrial action.
According to him, the TUC was not directly involved in the protest or negotiations with the Joint Workers Council and therefore could not unilaterally call off an action it had not initiated or negotiated.
Onuche said the unions had written to the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, on July 6 requesting an opportunity to formally present their concerns but had yet to secure a meeting with him.
He said the workers’ principal demand was for the government to reverse the proposed concession and reconsider the planned deployment of teachers and other employees who could be affected by the arrangement.
“Our demand now is that the minister should revoke that decision concerning King’s College and other schools,” Onuche said.
The workers also questioned the rationale for redeploying existing teachers from King’s College and other affected institutions at a time when the Federal Government had approved a waiver to recruit more than 3,000 Parent-Teacher Association workers into Federal Unity Colleges.
Fear of wider concessions
The Joint Workers Council warned that allowing the King’s College arrangement to proceed could establish a precedent for similar concessions involving other Federal Unity Colleges.
The unions argued that the schools are national public assets and should remain accessible to students regardless of their economic background.
Chairman of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria chapter at the Federal Ministry of Education, Chigozie Ngadi, said the protest was also aimed at protecting access to quality education for children from less privileged families.
“We are speaking for Nigerians. We are speaking for downtrodden Nigerians to have access to good education,” Ngadi said.
He said the unions were not against partnerships designed to improve infrastructure in public schools, but maintained that such arrangements should not undermine public ownership or access.
“The old boys association should give back to that society that made them what they are and not take from it,” he said.
A former TUC chairman in Oyo State, Andrew Emelieze, who spoke on behalf of parents, similarly questioned why the King’s College Old Boys Association could not support the institution through direct infrastructure projects without seeking control of its management.
“These people just want to take over this place. Why can’t they go and contribute money to start their own college?” he said.
He suggested that the alumni association could finance specific projects at the school, with facilities named after donors, rather than become involved in its management.
Old boys reject acquisition claims
The King’s College Old Boys Association, however, rejected allegations that it was seeking to acquire the institution.
The association’s members were prevented by protesting parents from entering the school premises in Lagos on Tuesday. The confrontation occurred despite the presence of policemen led by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Tijani Fatai.
The old boys had planned to brief journalists inside the school but were forced to address the media outside the premises amid a tense and noisy atmosphere.
President of the association, Kassim Imam Ibrahim, said the Federal Executive Council had approved the transfer of the management of the school to the old boys, not its ownership.
“The Federal Executive Council, FEC, met and took the decision to hand over the running of the college to the Old Boys Association. We are not interested in buying the school,” Ibrahim said.
He maintained that the Federal Government was not selling the institution and said the association's objective was to rehabilitate deteriorating infrastructure at both the main campus in Onikan and the annex on Victoria Island.
“The facilities are dilapidated at the main campus here in Onikan and the annex on Victoria Island. We are on a rescue mission. We want to restore the lost glory of the college,” he said.
Ibrahim also assured workers that the proposed arrangement would not result in job losses.
“In fact, anybody who chooses to stay will have their salaries doubled, and whoever wants to go can join other unity colleges in Lagos,” he said.
‘King’s College is not for sale’
The old boys association further sought to distance itself from allegations that it was attempting to take possession of the school.
In a statement issued on behalf of the Chairman of its Board of Trustees, Alhaji Femi Okunnu, SAN, the association described its objective as one of service and rehabilitation.
“King’s College is not for sale,” the statement said.
It added that the alumni body was seeking to “serve, manage, support and rebuild” the institution rather than acquire it.
The association described the proposed arrangement as an act of stewardship and a way of giving back to an institution that had educated generations of Nigerians.
Police call for dialogue
Amid the confrontation in Lagos, the state police commissioner appealed to the opposing sides to embrace dialogue and avoid actions that could lead to a breakdown of law and order.
“We have spoken to both sides, and there is a need for dialogue,” Fatai said.
He warned that attempting to force entry into the school could worsen the situation.
“As it is now, it will not be advisable for anybody to attempt to enter the school forcibly,” he added.
Unity colleges divided over resumption
The disagreement over the strike suspension was reflected in the varying situations at Federal Unity Colleges across the country.
In Uyo, the Federal Science Technical College remained closed on Tuesday despite the TUC announcement that the industrial action had been suspended.
Placards displayed at the school gate carried messages opposing privatisation and the concession of Federal Unity Colleges.
One inscription read: “No privatisation. Schools are national assets, not a private estate.”
Another declared: “No to sales/concession of F.U.C’s (unity schools). No reversal, no resumption.”
A parent, Isaac Job, said his son remained at home because the unions directly involved in the protest had not called off the action.
“The announcement that the strike has been called off is propaganda by the Federal Government,” he alleged.
In Benin City, the Parent-Teachers Association of Federal Government Girls’ College also said it had not received official communication confirming a resolution between the government and the unions.
Caretaker Chairman of the PTA, Kelvin Okpefa, said the school had therefore remained closed.
“We have not resumed today. We are not aware of any agreement with the federal government on this issue. Once we receive the information, our children will resume school,” he said.
The situation was different in Maiduguri, where Federal Government College was open and prepared to receive students.
A management staff member, who declined to be identified, said the school was ready to resume academic activities as soon as students returned.
“We are ready to commence teaching as soon as the students arrive,” the official said.
At Federal Government College, Kano, the strike was reportedly called off on Tuesday, with students directed to return to classes.
A staff member confirmed the development but declined to provide further details about the circumstances surrounding the earlier protest.
The Kano development followed days during which the school had appeared largely deserted, with protest placards displayed at the entrance.
Government, workers to meet Wednesday
Efforts to resolve the dispute are expected to continue on Wednesday, following the postponement of a meeting between Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, and the recognised leadership of the protesting workers.
The meeting, initially scheduled for Tuesday, was moved to 4pm on Wednesday.
National President of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, Bola Audu, said the meeting would provide the unions with an opportunity to formally present their grievances and seek concrete assurances from the ministry.
Audu also rejected the outcome of the earlier meeting between the minister and what he described as “factional leaders” of the unions.
He maintained that the Joint Workers Committee remained the legitimate body mandated to negotiate on behalf of the workers involved in the protest.
The disagreement follows an earlier controversy over the proposed concession of King’s College, involving the use of a substantial portion of the institution’s land under a planned public-private partnership.
While the government and the old boys association have presented the arrangement as a means of rehabilitating the school and restoring its infrastructure, the protesting workers and some parents remain concerned about the implications for public ownership, employment and access to education.
With the two sides yet to reach a common position, the Wednesday meeting between the government and the protesting workers is expected to be critical to determining whether the Federal Unity Colleges can fully resume academic activities or whether the dispute will extend further.