The prolonged crisis rocking the Federal College of Education (Technical) (FCET), Akoka, assumed a violent twist, as aggrieved workers and students unleashed violence and mayhem on officials and learners, paralysing academic and administrative activities on campus.

The crisis worsened last Monday, when some workers and students attacked the chairman and members of the institution’s governing council, as well as the management team, vandalising cars and property worth millions of naira.

About 32 members of staff and students were arrested for their roles in the fracas. Since May 27, the workers had locked the office of the Provost, Wahab Azeez, and issued him a notice to quit his official residence over his continued stay in office.

The protest, championed by workers under the umbrella of “Concerned Staff,” is led by the leadership of the Senior Staff Union of Colleges of Education (SSUCOEN), FCET chapter, insisting that with the amendment of the Educational Colleges Act 2023, which introduced a five-year single term for provosts and other principal officers of colleges of education, the tenure of Azeez had ended.

However, the provost said he was appointed for the first term of four years in 2019, and having been duly reappointed by the institution’s governing council in 2023, he already resumed his second term on May 27, 2023, before the amended Act was signed into law on June 12, 2023.

Following letters by the unions seeking clarification on the tenure of office of the provost based on the amended Act, the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, wrote the unions, affirming the legality of Azeez’s second term of four years.

However, the protesters ignored the minister’s verdict and continued to stage daily protests on campus, denying management members access to their offices.
Mamman, who was represented by the Minister of State for Education, Yusuf Sununu, subsequently met with the warring parties in Abuja, where resolutions were made.

Despite the resolutions, some of the workers have threatened showdown should the embattled provost return to office. The resolutions, signed by the representatives of the ministry, the governing council, and staff unions, included the reopening of the office of the provost and his return to office.

The meeting ordered an end to the prolonged protest by the workers, and the governing council, chaired by Olatunde Adenuga was asked to meet with them to address the issues.

The meeting also mandated the new council to investigate concerns raised by the staff, including alleged misappropriation of funds reportedly approved for the college fencing, as well as appointment of the bursar.

Meanwhile, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) and Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL) have called on Mamman to urgently address the lingering crisis rocking the college.

The group warned that the actions of the protesting workers could lead to violent reactions, the end of which cannot be fathomed. They subsequently called on Mamman to intervene, so as to restore normalcy to the institution.

“The minister should realise that it will be so bad if he fails to resolve the dispute. He should brace himself up, call warring factions to order and iron out grey areas that all parties would agree on as the opposite will be an ill-wind that blows no one any good,” the groups stated.