NTA vs Jollof Tutors: could this be the last warning?

Apparently, the fact that Ousman G.M Nyang, the head of NTA, had been featuring in a commercial like that appeared unappealing to the man himself. This is what we gathered from a copy of  a letter obtained by the Daily Observer, which had been written to the proprietor of Jollof Tutors, warning against possible legal action.

Nyang is said to have made the remarks featured in the tape during an ABE award ceremony for Gambian students held sometime ago, which was covered by GRTS.

"It happens that whilst I was away on an official mission in Ghana," the letter addressed to the proprietor of Jollof reads, "I was featured in an advertisement for Jollof Tutors on GRTS showing a gracious remark that I made.

In fact I have never been informed about it or gave Jollof Tutor the authority to put my picture and recorded voice on this advertisement. Being the director general of a regulatory body for all training institutions, it would be unethical and illegal to be featured in an advertisement or any publication."

Nyang told the Daily Observer that when he saw the advert, he called Alhagie Kurang, the proprietor of Jollof Tutors, and instructed him to stop the advertisement immediately. He said although Alhagie had promised to heed his advice, he continued featuring him.

"I am urging him to stop it immediately otherwise I have no other option but to take legal action against the institution and the publishers," Mr Nyang warned, in an interview with this reporter.

Responding to the concern of the NTA director, Alhagie Kurang acknowledged the the existence of the advert and admitted knowledge of the stalemate that had ensued.

"During the award ceremony," he said, "our students won 75% of the awards and a positive statement was made by the NTA boss about our school and we believed these are factual comments. This is why our media consultants took those positive comments and slot them in our advert." Kurang appeared to see absolutely no problem what so ever in the ad; and the NTA, he said, did not say that it was a wrong statement.

He recognized the reason why the authorities at the NTA were concerned, "their neutrality," he pointed out. But, he added, we respect them for that and we appreciate their concern very well.

He assured the Daily Observer that "we have spoken to our publishers to change it immediately and they are working on that.

He however went on to called on the NTA to understand that "we feel that those are positive statements and can encourage other schools to do better, that was our only intention of putting that as advert."