ASCSN threatens legal action over plans to to sell unity schools

The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has renewed its opposition to the reported concession of Federal Government Colleges to private interests, warning President Bola Ahmed Tinubu against approving any plan that could put the country’s cherished Unity Schools beyond the reach of ordinary Nigerians.
Addressing a press conference at King’s College, Lagos, on Wednesday, the National Vice President of the union, Comrade Olubunmi Adebayo Fajobi, said the 120 Unity Schools remain national assets established to promote unity and should never be handed over to Old Boys’ Associations or other private investors.
Fajobi said the press conference became necessary following claims by the King’s College Old Boys’ Association (KCOBA) that the college had already been concessioned to it after ASCSN earlier warned against any move to privatise the schools.
“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 said.
Questioning the reported arrangement, the union 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?” He insisted that the schools should remain under government ownership in the public interest.
The union warned that privatising the Unity Schools would lead to exorbitant school fees, making them inaccessible to children from poor families, while exposing thousands of teachers, education officers and other workers to possible job losses.
ASCSN also reminded Nigerians that it successfully resisted a similar attempt to privatise the Unity Schools between 2005 and 2010 through nationwide protests, dialogue, industrial action and litigation, insisting that the reasons for opposing the policy remain valid today.
The association recalled that the Unity Schools were established by Nigeria’s first Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, to foster national integration by bringing together children from different ethnic, religious and social backgrounds, warning that commercialising them would undermine that vision.
The union renewed its appeal to President Tinubu to reject any proposal seeking to transfer the schools to private interests. In an earlier letter to the President, ASCSN argued that while alumni associations are free to support their alma maters through donations and infrastructure projects, ownership and management of the schools should remain with the Federal Government.
Beyond the Unity Schools controversy, ASCSN urged the Federal Government to improve workers’ welfare by creating more directorate positions to address career stagnation and approving palliatives to cushion the current economic hardship facing public servants.
Fajobi appealed to Nigerians, labour unions, traditional rulers, religious leaders and civil society organisations to join the campaign to preserve what he described as the nation’s educational heritage, warning that private investors could eventually convert the schools and their vast landed property into profit-making ventures.
While reaffirming the union’s commitment to dialogue, ASCSN warned that it would not hesitate to seek judicial intervention if the proposed concession goes ahead. The development comes days after the union formally petitioned President Tinubu to preserve the Unity Schools as symbols of affordable education, national unity and integration.