King’s College Concession: Unity Colleges Resume After 2-Week Closure

Federal Unity Colleges across Abuja and its environs reopened yesterday for academic activities after a two-week shutdown sparked by opposition to the proposed concession of King’s College, Lagos.

The schools, which were scheduled to resume for the 2026/2027 academic session on 13 September, remained shut following a directive by the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASCSN) for its members to keep the colleges closed over concerns surrounding the proposed concession.

LEADERSHIP reports that the Federal Government had proposed to concession King’s College, Lagos, to the King’s College Old Boys’ Association (KCOBA) under a public-private partnership arrangement.

Under the proposed deal, KCOBA is expected to finance, rehabilitate, modernise, operate and maintain the 117-year-old institution, while the Federal Government retains legal ownership and regulatory oversight.

The proposed concession triggered opposition from ASCSN, which directed its members in the Federal Unity Colleges to keep the schools shut, disrupting the scheduled commencement of the new academic session.

The industrial action was suspended on 23 September following an agreement among ASCSN, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and the zonal coordinators of the Unity Schools.

Following the suspension, boarding students began returning to their schools on Sunday, 27 September, while day students resumed on Monday, 28 September.

A visit by LEADERSHIP to the Federal Government Boys’ College, Apo, Abuja, yesterday showed that academic activities had resumed, with students seen moving around the school premises and attending classes.

Although LEADERSHIP was not granted access to the school premises, security personnel at the gate confirmed that academic activities had resumed.

Similarly, at the Federal Science and Technical College, Orozo, boarding students returned to school on Sunday, while day students resumed yesterday.

Academic activities had also commenced at the college, with students seen attending classes as the school settled back into the new academic session.

A parent whose child attends the Federal Government Boys’ College, Apo, confirmed the resumption, saying, “Yes, Federal Government Boys’ College, Apo, resumed. I took my son there yesterday.”

Meanwhile, the seven-member committee reviewing the controversial concession of the 117-year-old King’s College, Lagos, is yet to commence its sitting, with its two-week deadline fast approaching and the panel now likely to seek an extension after its inaugural meeting was postponed from Monday to Wednesday.

The delay comes just days before the expiration of the two-week window agreed by the Federal Government, labour and the King’s College Old Boys’ Association (KCOBA) to resolve the dispute, raising concerns over whether the panel will have sufficient time to examine the contentious agreement and submit its recommendations.

The committee was originally scheduled to begin its sitting in Abuja on Monday, but the meeting was postponed to Wednesday, leaving the panel with only a few days to consider the various issues surrounding the concession before the agreed timeline expires.

A member of the committee, who spoke to journalists on condition of anonymity, disclosed that the inaugural meeting was initially scheduled for 10am on Monday, later shifted to 2pm, and eventually postponed to Wednesday.

According to the source, union representatives were asked to submit a position paper on the King’s College concession as a condition precedent to convening the meeting.

“We were asked to come up with a position paper on the concession. They only informed us today (yesterday). We were still waiting for details of other documents, as no annexures were attached to the concession agreement,” the source said.