The training contract awarded to Express Concern International (ECN) for Niger Delta ex-agitators in its novel Train, Employ, and Mentor (TEM) scheme, has been revoked by the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).

Mr. Neotabase Egbe, the Special Adviser, Media to the Interim Administrator, Col. Milland Dikio (retd) said the contract was revoked over breach of the agreement.

Egbe said the termination followed an allegation by a group, Concerned Indigenes of Oil Mineral Producing States Forum (CIOMPSF), that the company diverted funds it received from the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

Revealing that 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, he added that each job awarded by PAP was secured by a performance bond provided by the benefitting firm that enabled the amnesty office to recover its money in an event of default by a contractor.

He said;

“The attention of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) has been drawn to reports that a contractor, Express Concerns International Limited, has diverted money paid to them to train 90 ex-agitators in the agriculture value chain.

“Indeed, the PAP had contracted Express Concerns International Limited to train its beneficiaries. But the contract was terminated via a letter dated June 14th, 2022 because the contractor breached the terms of the agreement.

“Contracts are not awarded to just anybody who submits a proposal, but to serious contractors, who can deliver their contractual obligations.