Nigeria has struggled with implementing public-sector reforms due to opposition from labour unions. When the government attempts to change the management of a failing public institution, workers raise concerns about job security, and organised labour mobilises, leading to protests and threats of industrial action. The recent controversy over the proposed concession of King’s College, Lagos, is a prime example. The Federal Government has maintained that the college is not being sold or privatised, but labour unions have opposed the arrangement, citing concerns about their jobs and the character of the school.
The dispute over King’s College has led to a two-week pause in implementation, during which a committee will review the arrangement. The King’s College Old Boys’ Association has stated that it is not acquiring the school but seeking a framework to help manage, finance, modernise, and rebuild the institution. Transparency, employment protection, affordability, and public accountability are legitimate concerns when a public institution is concessioned. However, there is a larger question Nigeria must confront: at what point does the legitimate protection of workers become resistance to institutional reform itself?
This is not the first time Nigeria has faced this challenge. In 2007, the Federal Government sold a 51-percent stake in the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries to the Blue Star Oil Services consortium, but the deal attracted intense criticism from organised labour. The consortium subsequently withdrew from the transaction and sought a refund of the $721 million it had paid. The government returned the funds, and the refineries have since continued to struggle. A Senate document noted that the Federal Government spent almost twice the amount on turnaround maintenance of the refineries between 2010 and 2022 as it spent on fuel subsidy during the same period.
The refinery story is instructive because the alternative to the 2007 transaction was continued public control. Nigeria has continued to pour enormous resources into rehabilitating its refineries. Recently, NNPC’s audited accounts showed that its investments in the Port Harcourt, Kaduna, and Warri refineries rose from N1.72 trillion in 2023 to N2.92 trillion in 2024. Despite these investments, the refineries continue to face operational difficulties. The Port Harcourt refinery resumed product loading in November 2024, but was shut for maintenance in May 2025.
Similar tensions have appeared in other sectors, including power and aviation. During the 2013 privatisation of PHCN assets, electricity workers protested over unpaid entitlements and threatened to resist the takeover. The Bureau of Public Enterprises later reported that hundreds of billions of naira had been paid to former PHCN workers, and additional labour-related obligations were being processed. In the aviation sector, airport concession plans have repeatedly encountered resistance from workers who fear job losses and inadequate protection.
The experience of St. Gregory’s College is relevant, as it demonstrates what alumni-backed intervention can achieve when resources and management are brought together. This experience challenges the assumption that public ownership alone guarantees public interest. Nigeria’s reform debate should move beyond the simplistic choice between government and private sector. The government has a responsibility to protect workers, and labour has a responsibility to defend legitimate employment rights.
The King’s College concession debate deserves a different standard of discussion. If the institution has deteriorated, the question should not be whether government ownership must continue indefinitely. Instead, the questions should focus on what investment is required, who will provide it, what management structure will deliver it, and how teachers and students will be protected. These questions are more useful than simply saying no to reform.
Key points
- Labour unions have consistently opposed public-sector reforms in Nigeria, often citing job security concerns.
- The government's responsibility to protect workers and labour's responsibility to defend legitimate employment rights must be balanced with the need for institutional reform.
- Nigeria's reform debate should move beyond the simplistic choice between government and private sector.
