By Isa Isawade
The King’s College Old Boys’ Association (KCOBA) has launched a robust defence of the controversial concession of King’s College, Lagos, dismissing claims that the institution has been sold and condemning in strong terms the reported deployment of underage students in protests against the Minister of Education.
In a statement issued by its Board of Trustees and made available to PM NEWS on Wednesday, the alumni body accused elements of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) of reducing a complex institutional initiative to “slogans, misinformation, sectional interests and the exploitation of schoolchildren for purposes they are neither equipped nor entitled to determine.”
The statement, titled “The King’s College Concession: A Responsibility to the Future and a Rejection of the Misuse of Our Children,” comes amid escalating tensions over the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement that will see KCOBA’s special-purpose vehicle assume the management, development and rehabilitation of the 117-year-old institution.
At the heart of KCOBA’s anger is the reported use of students in school uniform during recent demonstrations, where chants labelling the Minister of Education as “Ole” — meaning “thief” — were recorded and circulated on social media.
“Whatever one’s position on the concession may be, this is not an acceptable way to conduct a disagreement about the future of a school,” the statement read.
The Old Boys’ association did not mince words, posing a series of rhetorical questions: “What lesson are we teaching a child when we place him in school uniform, put a slogan in his mouth and instruct him to publicly call a senior public officer a thief? What lesson are we teaching about disagreement? What lesson are we teaching about authority? What lesson are we teaching about evidence? What lesson are we teaching about responsible citizenship?”
KCOBA warned that the conduct was fundamentally inconsistent with the values King’s College was founded upon — discipline, character, leadership and service — and cautioned that a school cannot demand discipline from students while permitting them to be used as “instruments of undisciplined adult confrontation.”
Child Rights and Legal Exposure
The association drew attention to the Child Rights Act, specifically Section 11, which recognises a child’s entitlement to respect for the dignity of his person and protection against physical, mental or emotional injury, abuse, neglect or maltreatment.
While stopping short of accusing every participating child of an offence, KCOBA placed responsibility squarely on the adults who mobilised them.
“The responsibility for how children are mobilised, directed and exposed rests primarily with the adults responsible for them,” the statement said, adding that children “should be in classrooms and not deployed as human billboards for adult grievances.”
The Old Boys’ body also issued a legal caution to those circulating recordings of the protests, citing the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, as amended in 2024, which contains provisions on knowingly false communications.
“The internet is not a legal vacuum,” KCOBA warned. “The fact that a statement is made by a child, recorded on a telephone and uploaded to social media does not remove the legal consequences that may arise from the underlying conduct or from its publication.”
“Not a Sale”: KCOBA Sets the Record Straight
Addressing what it described as misinformation surrounding the concession, KCOBA was emphatic: “The concession is not the sale of King’s College. It is not the transfer of ownership of King’s College to KCOBA. It is not the abandonment of government responsibility for the institution.”
According to the association, the concession agreement expressly provides that legal title to the concession assets remains vested in the Federal Government, with no proprietary interest transferred to the Concessionaire.
What has been established, KCOBA explained, is a PPP framework under which King’s College Education Trust Ltd/Gte (KCET) will undertake the management, development, rehabilitation and operation of the College.
The Agreement, the statement noted, records that the Federal Ministry of Education identified an urgent need for comprehensive rehabilitation and modernisation “without imposing additional fiscal pressure on government allocations.”
A Process, Not a Backroom Deal
KCOBA detailed the institutional journey of the concession, revealing that it submitted a formal unsolicited proposal through KCET, which was then subjected to a regulated review process by the Federal Ministry of Education and the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC).
That process included needs assessment, technical and legal due diligence, economic and financial analysis, environmental and social due diligence, value-for-money analysis, fiscal impact assessment, risk identification and allocation, stakeholder consultations and commercial structuring.
The ICRC, satisfied that the project complied with PPP requirements and met value-for-money and bankability thresholds, issued a Certificate of Compliance. The project was subsequently approved by the Federal Executive Council.
“This is therefore not an arrangement that emerged from a backroom conversation between KCOBA and an individual,” the statement stressed. “To portray it otherwise is to mislead the public.”
KCOBA was keen to emphasise that it is not paying a concession fee to acquire the school. Instead, the consideration is the substantial investment and institutional obligations undertaken by the Concessionaire.
Under the agreement, KCET is required to finance, develop, operate and maintain the project, implementing a minimum rehabilitation programme covering academic buildings, administrative blocks, hostels, staff quarters, laboratories, libraries, dining and health facilities, utilities, and sports infrastructure.
The Concessionaire must also assume responsibility for capital and recurrent expenditure, provide learning materials and digital tools, maintain educational performance against defined KPIs, and ultimately return the School free of encumbrances upon expiration or termination of the concession.
“In other words: KCOBA is not paying government for King’s College. KCOBA is undertaking responsibility for investing in King’s College,” the statement said.
Government Retains Ownership and Oversight
Countering suggestions that government has relinquished control, KCOBA noted that the Federal Government retains legal title, regulatory and supervisory functions, inspection and audit rights, and step-in rights where material defaults occur.
Persistent underperformance, material breaches, safeguarding failures and health and safety failures can trigger contractual remedies, including step-in and termination.
“This is therefore not the surrender of governmental responsibility. It is a restructuring of how that responsibility can be delivered more effectively,” the association argued.
PTA’s Role Questioned
KCOBA acknowledged the legitimate role of parents but rejected any suggestion that the PTA speaks for the entire King’s College community.
“The PTA is not the owner of King’s College. It is not the Federal Government. It is not KCOBA. And it does not have the authority to speak as though it alone represents the totality of the King’s College community,” the statement said.
The association expressed concern that the current campaign has become entangled with separate disputes between elements of the PTA and parents concerning the DESK issue, warning that internal stakeholder matters cannot legitimately be converted into a campaign against the concession without evidence establishing such a connection.
“King’s College must not become collateral damage in disputes between adults,” KCOBA warned.
A Legacy of Giving
Defending its track record, KCOBA pointed to a September 2023 letter of appreciation from the Federal Ministry of Education, which acknowledged numerous interventions by Old Boys and class sets, including infrastructure rehabilitation, boreholes, scholarships and technology interventions.
Among those recorded were scholarships for indigent students, university scholarships, academic prizes and the renovation and equipping of the PTDF ICT Laboratory with 40 computer systems. The Ministry concluded that KCOBA was “highly committed to the progress and development” of King’s College.
More recently, in May 2026, the 1981–1986 Class Set made a ₦40 million intervention towards the digitalisation of classrooms.
“This is the culture of Kingsmen. We have been giving. We are still giving,” the statement said.
A Generational Test
KCOBA framed the concession as a defining moment for the alumni body, aligning it with the vision articulated during Kingsweek 2026: “Owning Our Future: Advancing the King’s College Lagos Legacy.”
“The concession is not simply a government transaction. It is a generational test,” the statement read. “Those who came before us built King’s College. They gave us an institution that shaped generations. Now the question is whether we will merely celebrate what they built — or have the courage to build upon it.”
The association outlined its vision for King’s College by 2050: world-class learning environments, modern laboratories, digital infrastructure, exceptional teachers, global academic partnerships, innovation and entrepreneurship, and governance capable of sustaining excellence across generations.
“That future will not be built by protests. It will not be built by slogans. It will not be built by misinformation. And it certainly will not be built by putting abusive words into the mouths of children,” KCOBA declared.
KCOBA’s Position: Ten Key Points
The association summarised its stance in ten declarations:
1. Full support for the concession framework and its objectives.
2. Rejection of the characterisation of the concession as a sale or privatisation.
3. Affirmation that legal ownership remains with the Federal Government.
4. Welcome of contractual obligations for rehabilitation and modernisation.
5. Condemnation of the mobilisation of underage students for abusive demonstrations.
6. Call upon adults to respect the dignity and safeguarding rights of children.
7. Strong caution against circulating online content involving children in potentially unlawful conduct.
8. Rejection of attempts to use unrelated disputes to misrepresent the concession.
9. Invitation to stakeholders with legitimate concerns to engage through responsible channels.
10. Commitment to transparency, accountability and measurable performance.
In its closing remarks, KCOBA reiterated that King’s College “is too important to Nigeria to be held hostage to adult disagreements” and “too important to our children to be used as instruments in battles they did not create and cannot understand.”
The statement concluded: “We owe it to the past to honour what was built. We owe it to the future to build something greater. And we owe it to our children to let them be children — to learn, to grow, and to inherit a King’s College that is stronger than the one we found.”
Dear Vows
