Parents of aggrieved students today stopped members of the King’s College Old Boys group from gaining access to the school premises in Lagos, as the controversy over the federal government’s decision to concession the college to the group rages.
Vanguard reports that the parents outside the main gate of the college formed a human blockade and prevented the old guys from entering the college, despite the presence of policemen headed by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Tijani Fatai.
The Old Boys Association members led by its President, Kassim Imam Ibrahim had intended to update journalists on the controversies surrounding the concession of the college.
Several calls from police to open the gate were not heeded by the parents, forcing Ibrahim to speak to the media in front of the school in a raucous setting.
Ibrahim brushed aside insinuations that the organization was trying to take over the college, stating that the handover of management to the old lads was only allowed by the Federal Executive Council.
The Federal Executive Council, FEC, met and decided to hand over the management of the college to the Old Boys Association. We have no desire to purchase the school. We all have our own way of making a living. Nor is the Federal Government selling the college,” he said.
He stated the group has no desire to hike the school tuition and added that it was interested in rehabilitating the college’s infrastructure.
The facilities are falling apart at the main campus here in Onikan and the annexe on Victoria Island. We’re on a rescue mission. “We want to reclaim the lost glory of the college,” Ibrahim remarked. Find Degree Programs He gave the example of President Bola Tinubu’s choice while he was governor of Lagos State to return mission schools to their original owners as an example of the possible advantages of the arrangement.
He said the association will not lay off instructors or other workers under the proposed management arrangement.
“We are also not going to dismiss any teacher or worker. “Certainly, anybody that wants to stay will get a double of his or her salary and anybody that wants to go can go to other unity colleges in Lagos,” he stated.
In a statement to be read on behalf of the elder statesman and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the King’s College Old Boys Association, Alhaji Femi Okunnu, SAN, the association stated it was not seeking control of the institution.
“King’s College isn’t for sale. We are returning to serve, to assist manage, maintain and rebuild the institution that moulded generations of Nigerians. “This is a matter of stewardship, of obligation, of service offered in appreciation, not a desire for possession,” the statement stated.
But the parents, upset, stood firm in opposition to the proffered concession.
Former Chairman, Trade Union Congress, TUC, Oyo State, Andrew Emelieze, speaking on behalf of the parents, asked why the Federal Government would concession King’s College and other unity schools.
“These people just want to take over this territory. “Why can’t they go and put money into starting their own college? “If they want to give back to the college, let them run projects and such can be named after them,” he said.
Emelieze also wondered why the old lads of other federal institutions including military schools, were not pursuing similar arrangements.
Why are such colleges like the Navy School, Command School or the Air Force School not being taken over by agencies of the FG, which are also run by old boys of military schools? We won’t fall for their tricks. “There is not going to be any concession of King’s College or any of the unity colleges,” he declared.
CP Tijani, who spoke to journalists after the planned press briefing could not happen inside the school, appealed to all parties to engage in discussion.
We have spoken to both sides and there is a need for communication. “It will not be advisable for anybody to make attempt to forcibly enter, as it is now,” he stated.
“We will try to bring the two sides together. The responsibility of police is to maintain peace and prevent any law and order breakdown,” the police commissioner stated.
Meanwhile, the meeting between the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa and the Association of Senior Civil Servants in Abuja could not hold today. Sign Up for Courses
The meeting has been rescheduled for 4pm tomorrow, the insider added.
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