Officials of the Lagos State Government and the 91-year-old widow, presumed owner of Metropolitan College, Isolo have disagreed on the outcome of a crucial meeting held on Wednesday to resolve the contentious issue of handing over of the school to her.
The crucial meeting was summoned by the state Ministry of Justice to find solution to the 39-year-old tussle for the return of the college to the 91-yr-old widow, Mrs. Roseline Ololo, first wife of the owner (Michael Ololo) now late.
On Monday, September 21, the Octogenarian, her lawyer, Mr. Malcolm Omirhobo and about 50 protesters stormed Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s office and the state Ministry of Education under heavy down pour to protest and demand for the return of the 60-yr-old college taken over by the government in 1975.
The Octogenarian solicitor told our Correspondent on phone that the meeting which was attended by the Permanent Secretary, ministry of education, an official of the justice ministry and Mrs. Ololo ended in a deadlock.
Omirhobo said the meeting breakdown because of the inability of government representatives to abreast themselves of salient facts of the issue and the relevant laws.
The lawyer immediately dispatch a protest letter to governor Ambode stating ‘’your Excellency, we were shocked to the marrow at the meeting when your officials attended the meeting without their files on the subject matter.’’
He revealed in the letter that ‘’it is sad and heart broken that your representatives did not attend the meeting with the aim of resolving it but rather with the premeditated mind of making the meeting fail on arrival.’’
The Public Relations Officer of the education ministry, Mr. Jide Lawal in a statement made available to Daily Sun did not mention the deadlock or disagreement at the meeting which said was presided over by the permanent secretary, Mrs. Olabisi Ariyo.
He quoted Mrs. Ariyo as saying the state government in an effort to carry out due diligence, requested Mrs. Ololo to substantiate her claims to the ownership of the schools by providing a letter of administration or the copy of the will of the former owner of the school in order to fast track the process of returning the schools.
Ariyo noted that government’s position was informed by the need to ascertain the rightful status of Mrs. Ololo in the family, in view of the internal wrangling in the Ololo family adding that the process of returning the school could only be concluded after the identification of the rightful owner of the college.
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