Parents and other stakeholders at King’s College, Lagos, are threatening a mass protest over a federal government concession granted to the King’s College Old Boys’ Association, KCOBA.
The Parent-Teacher Association said the arrangement lacks broad support among groups directly connected to the 116-year-old public institution.
Peter Oluwaseye, the PTA chairman, said parents, senior civil servants and members of the surrounding community were opposed to the concession.
“Parents are not in support of the move. Senior civil servants are also saying no to it. The community is also not in support,” Oluwaseye said.
He argued that alumni should support the school through voluntary contributions rather than a takeover arrangement.
“We say no to concession, whatever guise it is being planned,” he said.
KCOBA president Kashim Ibrahim-Imam announced that the concession would be supported by a N100 billion endowment fund aimed at repositioning the school.
The fund has received early commitments from prominent figures, including N10 million from First Lady Oluremi Tinubu. Ibrahim-Imam pledged N1 billion, while Philip Asiodu, a former board of trustees chairman, and Femi Okunnu, the new board chairman, donated N100 million each.
According to KCOBA, the endowment will support infrastructure renewal, teacher development, digital technology upgrades, scholarships, research and student welfare.
Ibrahim-Imam rejected suggestions that the arrangement amounts to a sale of the school, saying ownership would remain unchanged.
He described it as a new governance framework through which KCOBA would partner with government to restore, modernise and sustain the institution.
The dispute has placed the governance structure of the concession at the centre of the debate, with stakeholders questioning whether the arrangement can proceed without wider support from parents and the community.
