REJECTION OF IIDN GRANT, REFUSAL TO ACCEPT REFUND AND UNNECESSARY COMPULSION TO UTILIZE GRANT FUNDS
SUSTAINABLE IMPACT…
This is to notify the general public that MyEnvironment MyWealth Nigeria wishes to publicly REJECT the grant of the sum of #50,000 (Fifty Thousand Naira) granted by the Initiative for Inclusive Dialogue in Nigeria (IIDN). We had initially rejected this grant by email and after continued correspondence, find it necessary to inform the general public about this development and to further disassociate ourselves from the said grant.
During the course of correspondence via email, and before the disbursement and further publishing of awardees, we had informed the organizers that we had completed funding for the project for which the grant was disbursed — ECO LIBRARY FOR OVCs Eteo Eleme, Rivers State.
We requested that the funds granted should be redirected to a similar project in a different location. This was duly rejected by the organizers who insisted that the policy of the grant was that the fund must be used for the initial project which it was disbursed for.
We absolutely understood this, and kindly offered to return the money (sum of #50,000) with a suggestion that the next qualified project/applicant would find this more beneficial as we have completed the project which it was intended for. This is the usual practice with grant awards.
To our utmost surprise, the organizers of the IIDN insisted that we keep the funds, despite our incessant refusal and went ahead to publish My Environment MyWealth as beneficiaries of said grant against our wish.
This move by the IIDN is perceived as suspicious by us.
Never in the history of grants has it been known that a grantee would be forced/compelled to accept the grant or award. There are other qualified projects that would appreciate this grant award, as we at MyEnvironment MyWealth Nigeria no longer have need for it after the completion of our project.
We also held stakeholders meeting with the Coordinators of The Luther Welfare for Children at Risk Development Centre Eteo Eleme who are direct beneficiaries of ECO LIBRARY project and they INSISTED we REFUND the said grant, this was communicated duly to IIDN but they still insist otherwise.
We demand that the IIDN retracts our name as an awardee of the said grant and accept the refund sum of #50,000 as we have no need for it with regards to the project for which it was awarded.
In as much as we appreciate the efforts of the organizers to assist laudable projects, we urge them to do the needful and see that a similarly beneficial project which is keenly in need of this fund, rightly benefits from the support instead.
We believe that the funds should be released to a project where it would make and have the most impact. The Eteo Eleme ECO LIBRARY FOR OVCs project is NOT such a project as it has already been completed.
There are many other deserving projects in need of financial support. We believe the IIDN would, following environmental best practices, focus on the impact this fund would have on one such project and redirect this awarded sum to it.
This decision is line with our core values as an environmental organization solely focused on ensuring sustainable impact, promoting youth inclusiveness and safe spaces.
E-signed:
MyEnvironment MyWealth Nigeria,
25th July, 2022.
