THE ASSOCIATION of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has rejected the reported concession and transfer of management of King’s College, Lagos, to the institution’s old boys’ association, describing the move as a violation of the Federal Government’s education policy and a threat to the continued public ownership of Federal Unity Schools.
The association, an affiliate of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), said it was aligning itself with the position of the Joint Congress of Unions of the Federal Ministry of Education and demanded the immediate reversal of what it described as an unlawful and procedurally irregular arrangement.
In a press statement on Friday, September 11, 2026, and signed by its Secretary General, Comrade Gamaliel C. Acho, the association warned that any attempt to sell, concession or transfer ownership or management of Federal Unity Schools constituted a serious departure from the policy direction of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The association specifically referenced King’s College, Lagos, saying that whoever initiated, facilitated or purported to carry out the transfer had acted “in manifest contravention” of the President’s policy directives and strategic priorities.
According to the statement, such actions were not merely an administrative disagreement but were incompatible with what the association described as the national interest.
“We want to place on record that whoever is responsible for initiating, facilitating, or purporting to effect the sale, concession, or transfer of ownership and/or management of any Federal Unity School, including but not limited to King’s College, Lagos, acted in manifest contravention of the policy directives and strategic priorities of His Excellency, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the association said.
It added that such actions “are incompatible with the national interest and shall be treated accordingly.”
Union Links Concession Dispute to Government’s Education Policy
ASCSN based its opposition partly on the Federal Government’s recent intervention in the staffing of the Unity Schools system.
The association recalled that President Tinubu had authorised the absorption of more than 4,000 teachers previously employed by Parent-Teacher Associations into the Federal Civil Service.
It described the decision as a significant intervention intended to stabilise the education system and improve service delivery.
The association also cited the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) as evidence of the administration’s stated commitment to expanding access to education and supporting Nigerians seeking higher education.
Against that backdrop, the civil servants’ union questioned why Federal Unity Schools would simultaneously be subjected to arrangements that could remove them from direct public management.
The association argued that any attempt to appropriate, alienate or otherwise dispose of the schools, regardless of the terminology used, amounted to “an affront to the common heritage of the Nigerian people,” a “direct contradiction of the Renewed Hope Agenda on Education” and “a disservice to the nation and its citizenry.”
The language reflects the broader position already taken by the Joint Congress of Education Ministry unions, as earlier reported by National Record, which framed the King’s College concession as part of a potentially wider move towards the privatisation of Federal Unity Colleges.
In its September 10 communiqué, the Joint Congress said it had suspended the reopening of all Federal Unity Colleges “until further notice” and described the concession of King’s College as unacceptable. It accused the Minister of Education of failing to grant its requests for a meeting over the issue despite repeated attempts to secure an audience.
The unions said the alleged failure to engage them left them with “no option” but to take a stand in defence of public education.
They also appealed for solidarity from organisations including the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), urging them to oppose the sale or concession of Federal Unity Colleges.
ASCSN’s intervention, therefore, broadens the labour opposition to the King’s College arrangement beyond the unions directly representing workers in the Federal Ministry of Education.
