Tension at the Federal Ministry of Education in Abuja escalated on Tuesday as protesting workers blocked senior officials from accessing their offices amid an ongoing dispute over the proposed concession of King’s College, Lagos.

The workers, under the Joint Workers Committee of unions in the ministry, rejected a directive by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to suspend their industrial action, insisting that their concerns over the proposed arrangement had not been adequately addressed.

Reports said the workers shut the ministry’s headquarters and prevented the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, and the Acting Permanent Secretary, Dr. Folake Olatunji-David, from accessing their offices.

The dispute centres on the proposed Public-Private Partnership arrangement involving King’s College, Lagos, which the Federal Government plans to transfer to the management of the King’s College Old Boys’ Association.

The workers have demanded that the concession plan be reversed or subjected to broader consultation, expressing concerns about its implications for public education and workers’ jobs.

The Federal Government had earlier agreed to review the concession arrangement following negotiations with organised labour. A seven-member joint review committee, including labour representatives, was subsequently constituted to examine the concession document and address stakeholders’ concerns.

Despite that development, the Joint Workers Committee has maintained its opposition, saying the industrial action will continue until its demands are addressed.

The dispute has also affected the resumption of academic activities in Federal Government Unity Colleges across the country, with some schools remaining shut amid the disagreement.

The development leaves the Federal Government and education-sector unions under pressure to resolve the dispute and restore normal operations in the ministry and affected schools.