Samuel Oyadongha
27 November 2011, Sweetcrude, Yenagoa – Irked by what it described as the poor quality services being offered by a South African firm for the training of ex Niger Delta agitators the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and chairman of the Amnesty Programme, Mr. Kingsley Kuku has revoked the contract with Westgate Unique Alliance Limited, one of the training providers for 87 ex militants in South Africa.
To this end, the Amnesty Office has perfected plans to directly manage the affairs of the 87 trainees that were under the care of Westgate Unique Alliance Limited, in South Africa, until their graduation next year
Kuku in a statement issued by Henry Ugbolue, Henry Ugbolue, Head, Media and Communications, Amnesty Office, warned that he would not hesitate to do same to any other defaulting training provider engaged by the Amnesty Programme.
According to him, the firm was contracted by the office to facilitate the professional training of 87 Amnesty Programme’s beneficiaries in crane operation and pipeline welding in South Africa.
The trainees he said resumed at theBelique Welding School, Randhart, Abherton as well as the Cleveland Training Centre, Germiston, South Africa in June this year.
Citing reason for the revocation of the contract, he said repeated findings by the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit of the Amnesty Office glaringly indicated a progressive decline in the quality of services being provided the trainees by Westgate Unique Alliance Limited.
The action of the firm, he said was not tandem with the directive of His Excellency, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, to ensure that contracted trainers and institutions offer first class vocational training to Niger Delta ex-agitators enrolled in the Presidential Amnesty Programme.
To stem the ugly tide, Hon. Kuku the statement said made several efforts to have the firm abide by its contractual obligations to the Amnesty Programme’s trainees to no avail.
“Convinced that Westgate Unique Alliance Limited may be scheming to short-change the Amnesty Office as well as the 87 trainees in their care, Hon. Kingsley Kuku terminated the firm’s contract on Friday, 25th November 2011. While terminating the contract, Hon. Kuku warned that he will not hesitate to do same to any other defaulting training provider engaged by the Amnesty Programme.
“Meanwhile, the Amnesty Office has perfected plans to directly manage the affairs of the 87 trainees that were under the care of Westgate Unique Alliance Limited, in South Africa, until their graduation early next year,”the spokesman said.
