From Tony John, Port Harcourt
Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) has cancelled contracts awarded to the Express Concern International (ECN) for the training of former agitators in its novel Train, Employ and Mentor (TEM) scheme.
PAP, in a statement by Neotabase Egbe, media aide to the Interim Administrator, Milland Dixon Dikio, confirmed that the firm’s job was terminated for breaching the terms contained in the contract.
The statement followed an allegation by a group, Concerned Indigenes of Oil Mineral Producing States Forum (CIOMPSF) that the company diverted funds it received from PAP.
But, Egbe said even before the group issued its statement, PAP had terminated the contracts of the defaulting firm.
He said the amnesty office had also activated its internal mechanism to retrieve the money it paid to the firm through a performance bond provided by the company.
While acknowledging the interests shown by various stakeholders in the affairs of PAP, Egbe explained that under Dikio, each job awarded by PAP was secured by a performance bond provided by the benefitting firm that enabled the amnesty office recover its money in an event of default by a contractor.
“The attention of PAP has been drawn to reports that a contractor, Express Concerns International Limited, has diverted money paid to them to train 90 former agitators in the agriculture value chain.
“In deed, PAP had contracted Express Concerns International Limited to train its beneficiaries. But, the contract was terminated via a letter dated, June 14, 2022, because the contractor breached the terms of the agreement.
“Contracts are not awarded to just any body that submits a proposal, but to serious contractors that have the capacity to deliver their contractual obligations.
“However, each job awarded by PAP has an insurance bond that ensures the scheme recovers its money in the event of default by contractors. “Consequently, PAP wrote to the guaranteeing firm/insurance company for the recovery of the mobilisation fee paid to the company.
“While the management of PAP acknowledges the interests shown by various stakeholders in its affairs, let it be known that deliberate measures were put in place to reform contractual processes and block all loopholes that could be capitalised upon to dupe the programme.
“To all our concerned stakeholders and the public, there is nothing to worry about as your concerns had been anticipated and taken care of through various reforms initiated by the administration of Dikio.
“We want to further assure all stakeholders that PAP’s contracts are designed for the benefits of the programme’s beneficiaries and not for the enrichment of any contractor,” PAP said in the statement.