Labour vows legal action against FG, others over planned sale of Unity Schools

• Warns Presidency, Kings College alumni association

The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) yesterday threatened to institute legal action against the Presidency or any other body planning to concession or sell Federal Government Colleges to private interests.

Charging President Bola Tinubu against selling the colleges, the association warned that any attempt to hand over the nation’s 120 Unity Schools to Old Boys’ Associations or other private investors would deny millions of Nigerian children access to affordable education

Addressing a crowded press conference at King’s College, Lagos, National Vice President of the union, Olubunmi Fajobi, said the schools remain the collective patrimony of Nigerians and must not be converted into private assets under the guise of a Public-Private Partnership (PPP).

Fajobi said the union was compelled to address the media following claims by the King’s College Old Boys’ Association (KCOBA) that the college had already been concessioned to it after ASCSN’s July 1 warning against the proposed policy.

“We are here to reiterate our position that Federal Government Colleges should not be sold to Old Boys’ Associations or any private investor but must remain national assets to continue to serve the interest of Nigerian youths,” he declared.

Questioning the reported concession, the ASCSN leader asked: “If the Old Boys’ Association claims that the school has been ceded to them, what template have they designed to deal with the students and the employees of the college? This is why we maintain our position that the school should not be handed over to private entities.”

The union warned that privatising the Unity Schools would inevitably lead to exorbitant tuition fees, making the institutions inaccessible to children from low-income families, while exposing thousands of teachers, education officers and other workers to possible job losses.

According to Fajobi, “Once the schools are privatised, millions of employees… will be thrown into the oversaturated labour market, the negative social consequences of which we cannot now predict.”

The union also renewed its appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reject any proposal seeking to cede the 120 Federal Government Colleges to private interests, insisting that alumni associations wishing to contribute to education should establish and fund their own schools instead of taking over public institutions.

In an earlier letter to the President dated July 6, ASCSN argued that while Old Boys’ Associations are welcome to renovate facilities and support their alma maters, ownership and management of the schools should remain with the Federal Government.

Fajobi recalled that the battle against the privatisation of Unity Schools was first fought between 2005 and 2010 during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, when organised labour, students, parents, host communities, religious leaders and civil society groups mobilised nationwide to resist the move through protests, strikes, dialogue and court actions.

He noted that peace only returned to the Unity School system after former President Goodluck Jonathan restored the Junior Secondary School components that had earlier been dismantled, warning that the current proposal risks reopening old wounds and destabilising the education sector once again.

Tracing the history of the schools, the union said Unity Colleges were conceived by Nigeria’s first Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, as instruments for national integration by bringing together children from different ethnic, religious and social backgrounds to live and learn together. According to ASCSN, sixty years after their establishment, the schools remain one of Nigeria’s most enduring symbols of unity and should be preserved for future generations.

The union also dismissed suggestions that the schools should be concessioned because of funding challenges, insisting that governments across developed nations continue to invest in public education despite economic pressures. It maintained that improving infrastructure and governance is preferable to surrendering public institutions to private investors.

Beyond the controversy over Unity Schools, ASCSN called on the Federal Government to improve workers’ welfare by creating more directorate positions to address career stagnation in the civil service and approving palliatives to cushion the economic hardship confronting public servants across the country.

Fajobi appealed to Nigerians, traditional rulers, religious leaders, labour unions, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to rally behind the campaign to preserve the Unity Schools, warning that allowing them to fall into private hands could eventually lead to the conversion of valuable school property into commercial ventures.

While reaffirming the union’s commitment to dialogue, the ASCSN leader issued its strongest warning yet, saying the association would not hesitate to seek judicial intervention if government proceeds with the proposed concession. “As a law-abiding and responsible trade union, we will continue to engage the government in constructive dialogue to resolve this matter in the interest of all Nigerians. But if all efforts fail, the union will be compelled to seek other options, including resort to the courts.”

The latest intervention comes barely two days after ASCSN formally petitioned President Tinubu not to approve any plan to transfer Federal Government Colleges to private interests, expressing confidence that the President would preserve the Unity Schools as enduring institutions of affordable education, national unity and integration rather than allow them to become exclusive schools for the wealthy.