Tensions at the Federal Ministry of Education in Abuja escalated on Wednesday as protesting workers barricaded the ministry’s entrance, preventing Education Minister, Dr. Tunji Alausa, and the Acting Permanent Secretary, Dr. Folake Olatunji-Davies, from accessing their offices.
The workers reportedly formed a human barricade as the minister’s convoy arrived, chanting demands for his removal and refusing to allow vehicles into the premises.
The latest confrontation is linked to the growing dispute over the Federal Government’s decision to place the management of King’s College, Lagos, under a Public-Private Partnership with the school’s Old Boys’ Association.
The arrangement, approved by the Federal Government, is expected to run for 35 years. The government says it is not a sale or privatisation of the 117-year-old institution, stressing that legal ownership remains with the Federal Government while the Old Boys’ Association is expected to finance, rehabilitate, operate and maintain the school.
But the workers’ unions have strongly opposed the arrangement, arguing that management of a Federal Government-owned school should not be transferred under the concession model. They have also raised concerns over staff welfare, consultation and the possible implications for workers and other Federal Unity Colleges.
The dispute has already disrupted the resumption of academic activities across Federal Unity Colleges, with organised labour previously directing workers not to resume until their concerns over the concession were addressed.
Although the Federal Government agreed to review the concession framework following talks with labour, Wednesday’s confrontation suggests that tensions within the ministry remain unresolved.
A seven-member joint committee involving labour representatives has been constituted to examine the concession agreement and address outstanding concerns.
The latest protest therefore adds another layer to an already widening standoff between the ministry’s leadership and its workforce, with the future management of King’s College remaining at the centre of the dispute.
