A non-governmental organisation, Impact and Inspire (Wuraolami) Foundation, has refuted claims that its scholarship beneficiaries have not received their fund. It also disproved allegation that a United Kingdom-based Charity Chair Trustee, Ms Ifeoyinola Jacobs, has used some of the charity’s funds for personal purposes.
A scholarship beneficiary in Nigeria had in collaboration with a staff of National Human Rights Commission, filed a complaint with the UK Charity Commission against the Foundation under anonymity.
Following the allegations, the body suspended all scholarships awarded to Nigerian beneficiaries until further notice in line with their policy.
Responding, Impact and Inspire (Wuraolami), in a statement by Mrs Ifeoyinola Jacobs, described the allegations as untrue and malicious. The Foundation further maintained that allegations around non-payment of scholarship allowance to some of the awardees were orchestrated at defaming the leadership of the charity by desperate individuals seeking for means of survival.
Impact and Inspire (Wuraolami) Foundation is a not-for-profit charity organisation established in 2014 and registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in Nigeria in line with the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020 and all relevant laws.
The Foundation, which has supported for free hundreds of vulnerable members of Nigerian society since 2014, also support initiatives that targets the poor, needy, elderly, less-privileged, disabled, orphans, widowed, oppressed, downtrodden, homeless, indigent and students.
According to Jacobs, Impact and Inspire (Wuraolami) Foundation has also been actively involved in rehabilitating drug addicts and victims of sexual, domestic, and psychological abuses across the country. The rehabilitation of abused children and other categories of vulnerable people have been carried out at the Special Correctional Center for Girls located in Idi-Araba Mushin, Lagos.
She said the Foundation engaged in the distribution of relief items to people impacted by COVID-19 pandemic and has also provided healthcare services on annual basis as well as education support grants in form of sponsorship and scholarships to indigent and orphaned students. Reliefs made available to the needy include social security stipends to senior citizens across the country, among other efforts aimed at making society a better place.
“The Humanity Impact and Inspire Initiative has been well received by the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), the orphanages and motherless babies homes, hospitals/maternity centres as well as correctional and rehabilitation centres across the country.
“Over the past decade, the Impact and Inspire (Wuraolami) Foundation has maintained an exemplary track record of integrity and accountability in rendering services to humanity. The Foundation has collaborated with prominent individuals and organisations, including renowned medical practitioners, public servants, politicians, political office holders without any complaints of misconduct contrary to the allegations that remain unsubstantiated.
“The Foundation is therefore committed to exploring legal means of addressing the situation by filing a formal petition to the Nigeria Police Force. The organisation is committed to challenging defamation against its leadership in accordance with Nigerian law as contained in provisions of the Criminal Code Act, the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015, and all other relevant provisions of Nigerian Laws.
“With regards to issue of scholarship raised in the UK complaints to the charity commission, especially concerning false claims by certain individuals to be beneficiaries of the Charity’s Scholarship Scheme, sufficient evidences are available to counter the falsehood,” the statement read.
Jacobs said it is disheartening that Nigeria has a high rate of out-of-school children; particularly among young people as evidenced by the numbers of children engaging in hawking and other domestic chores; some of which are hazardous noting that this situation fuels the crime rate in the country.
“Considering these challenges, the Impact and Inspire (Wuraolami) Foundation has made the provision of quality education one of its main objectives. To achieve this, the charity’s trustees decided to award educational and vocational scholarships to financially disadvantaged students across the country who meets the necessary criteria.
“The requirements were carefully crafted to align with global best practices and were free from any malicious intent, bad faith, or bias. The recipients of the scholarships were completely unknown and unrelated to the Charity’s Trustees and the Chair. Despite this, some dishonest individuals took advantage of the charity’s generosity.
“Contrary to the charity’s policy of directly paying scholarships to the educational institutions chosen by the recipients, some individuals attempted to unlawfully divert the scholarship funds into personal and unverified accounts for their own gain. One of the recipients even did not have admission to any educational institution and she was not a student, but still sought to misappropriate the funds. It is important to note that all recipients who met the charity’s requirements received their scholarship funds, which were duly sent to their respective educational or vocational institutions. All payments for scholarship funds were made to the legitimate institutions of the charity’s scholarship recipients.
“There is currently a case is in Police Zone 2, Ikoyi, under ASP Segun Jibulu and his assistant, Insp. Steven. All necessary requested documents have been submitted. We strongly believe that there is a need for a thorough investigation to put an end to unnecessary misinformation and willful defamation,” Jacobs stated.
