Former Nigerian Bar Association President, Olumide Akpata, has rejected reports that the Federal Government has sold King’s College, Lagos, to the institution’s Old Boys’ Association.
Akpata, who spoke on Arise News while addressing the controversy surrounding the concession of the school to the King’s College Old Boys’ Association, said the institution remained publicly owned.
He stressed that the old boys were not seeking ownership of the 117-year-old school but wanted to support efforts to restore its infrastructure and academic environment.
“King’s College has not been sold. We have not bought the school. The school has not been offered to us. We are not interested in buying our school,” Akpata said.
Describing King’s College as the “nourishing mother” of its former students, he said members of the old boys’ community could not remain indifferent to the deterioration of the institution.
Akpata disclosed that the association was mobilising N100 billion to fund the rehabilitation and modernisation of the school.
He said financial commitments had already been made by members of the old boys’ community, although some donors were waiting for the concession agreement to be formally concluded before releasing their funds.
“Yes, we have our old boys community ready to put together this fund, 100 billion naira. The commitments are on the table,” he said.
According to him, KCOBA has invested billions of naira in the school over the years through projects including building renovations, sports facilities, power generators, an ICT laboratory and facilities for visually impaired students.
He, however, said some of the projects had deteriorated because of inadequate maintenance, making a more structured partnership with the government necessary.
‘We are ready to help’
Akpata said the association decided to pursue a formal arrangement with the government after concluding that its previous interventions could no longer adequately address the challenges facing the school.
“We know you have a lot on your plate. We are ready to help. We have been helping. We have demonstrated capacity,” he said.
He explained that the proposed intervention would cover infrastructure, boarding facilities and other aspects of the learning environment, with the objective of bringing the school up to international standards.
Akpata also expressed concern about the current condition of some parts of the institution, saying the deterioration had become difficult to ignore.
“You would not want to take your boys to that school today,” he said.
The Federal Government has similarly insisted that the arrangement with KCOBA does not constitute the sale or privatisation of King’s College.
Under the concession, the government is expected to retain ownership of the school, while the old boys’ association would provide funding for its rehabilitation, modernisation, operation and maintenance.
The arrangement has, however, generated opposition from some parents and education workers, leading to protests.
Following the concerns, the Federal Government agreed to suspend implementation of the concession for two weeks to allow further consultations with relevant stakeholders.
