The Federal Ministry of Education and labour unions have reached a five-point agreement aimed at resolving the dispute over the proposed concession of King’s College, Lagos.
The agreement was reached during a meeting on Wednesday night involving the Ministers of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa and Prof Suwaiba Ahmad, as well as representatives of the Joint Workers Union and the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN).
As part of the agreement, the labour unions are expected to suspend the industrial action triggered by concerns over the proposed arrangement involving the prestigious federal institution.
The parties also agreed that no staff member would be victimised or subjected to disciplinary measures for taking part in the industrial action.
Another major resolution was the decision by the ministry to suspend the commencement of the proposed takeover of King’s College by the institution’s old students for two weeks. The pause is expected to provide room for further discussions among the parties involved.
The meeting also agreed that policemen deployed to the premises of King’s College should be redeployed in order to create a more suitable environment for negotiations.
In addition, a seven-member committee will be established to examine and negotiate the agreement reached between the Federal Government and the King’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA).
The committee will review the agreement, consider the concerns raised by labour unions and address outstanding issues surrounding the proposed concession of the school.
Despite the agreement, Federal Unity Schools remained shut as of Wednesday amid the industrial dispute.
Minister of State for Education, Prof Suwaiba Said Ahmad, said the Federal Government was prepared to continue discussions with the unions but maintained that normalcy needed to return to the ministry before further engagement could take place.
She said the unions’ concerns appeared to be largely connected to resistance to change and reluctance to move away from existing arrangements.
The minister also disclosed that the proposed concession would run for 25 years. According to her, the period would allow the concessionaire to establish a sustainable structure and system while giving the government enough time to assess the effectiveness of the arrangement.
Parents Maintain Boycott as Police Remain at King’s College
Meanwhile, parents of students at King’s College have maintained their decision to boycott the resumption of their children in solidarity with the strike by the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria and the Joint Congress of Unions of the Federal Ministry of Education.
Parents protesting at the entrance of the school said they remained opposed to the proposed concession and would not release their children to resume until their concerns were addressed.
One parent, Mrs Ebun Sessou, said the position of parents had not changed.
“The school is not resuming yet. We are in support of the boycott as the takeover will affect us in the long run,” she said.
The development followed a confrontation on Tuesday involving parents, police officers and members of the old students’ association.
Police vehicles and officers reportedly cordoned off roads leading to the school’s main entrance, while vehicles travelling from the Tafawa Balewa end towards CMS bus stop were diverted to alternative routes.
Members of KCOBA, including its National President, Ibrahim Kassim Imam, and former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Olumide Akpata, were also at the school for a meeting to deliberate on the proposed concession and determine the association’s next steps.
Police officers have remained around the school premises as authorities seek to prevent further clashes between the different groups involved in the dispute.
Labour Union Condemns Police Deployment
The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria has also criticised the deployment of armed police officers to King’s College, accusing the police and KCOBA of interfering with negotiations over the proposed concession.
In a statement signed by its National President, Shehu Mohammed, and General-Secretary, Joshua Apebo, the union said the incident occurred less than 24 hours after a high-level meeting involving the Minister of Education, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria and ASCSN had produced an understanding on the concession issue.
The union alleged that armed policemen, reportedly led by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, arrived at the school at about 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday.
ASCSN described the operation as a “commando-style operation” and alleged that security personnel used a generating set to gain entry through the locked gates before firing shots into the air.
The union further alleged that some workers and parents were assaulted and pushed to the ground, while a child of one of the protesting parents was arrested. It also claimed that several of its members sustained injuries and were receiving medical treatment.
According to ASCSN, the police deployment was intended to give KCOBA access to the school for a press engagement.
The union described the development as an attack on workers’ rights and criticised the use of force during an ongoing industrial dispute.
“At the very moment when dialogue and lawful processes were underway, state security forces were deployed to sabotage trust, undermine negotiations, and intimidate workers,” the union said.
ASCSN called for the immediate withdrawal of police personnel from the school, arguing that the Nigeria Police Force should not be used to advance private interests or bypass established procedures.
The union also accused KCOBA and the police of weakening confidence in the negotiations with labour, saying the incident had “effectively undermined and stalled” the understanding reached between the Federal Ministry of Education, TUC and ASCSN.
The association maintained that education workers were exercising their right to oppose what it described as the “backdoor commercialisation” of a historic national institution.
It praised workers and parents who continued to oppose the proposed arrangement and said it would not be intimidated into abandoning its position.
ASCSN further warned that continued provocation and the use of force instead of dialogue would lead to what it described as “decisive and lawful resistance” from the union.
