Monrovia – Internews, the international non-profit organization recently awarded the task of empowering local media through a Media Development Plan in Liberia with $10m from USAID appears to have slipped up in its vetting of the organization’s new Deputy Chief of Party.
Report by Rodney D. Sieh, [email protected]
“In response to your inquiry yesterday, I can inform you that Linda Nwoke is currently on administrative leave from Internews. Internews follows industry standard best practices in all human resources processes”- Mr. Brice Rambaud, Regional Director, for Sub-Saharan Africa, Internews
FrontPageAfrica has learned that Linda Nwoke was fired from her previous job at the UK-based charity BBC Media Action after a regular audit turned up financial irregularities in 2014.
After an extensive investigation Nwoke was found to have engineered a scheme to defraud the charity. She faced disciplinary action and was fired.
Internews seemed unaware of this history when FrontPageAfrica contacted them last week.
Within 24 hours of that inquiry Internews informed Front Page Africa that Ms Nwoke had been put on administrative leave. Sources within the organization said she had been sent home to Nigeria just two weeks into the job.
Mr. Brice Rambaud, Regional Director, for Sub-Saharan Africa for Internews, responding to a FrontPageAfrica inquiry could only say that Ms. Nwoke has been placed on administrative leave.
“In response to your inquiry yesterday, I can inform you that Linda Nwoke is currently on administrative leave from Internews. Internews follows industry standard best practices in all human resources processes.”
A BBC Media Action spokesperson when contacted via email by FrontPageAfrica issued the following response:
“Following an internal investigation and disciplinary process undertaken in 2014 Linda Nwoke, who was the Country Director in BBC Media Action’s Nigeria office, no longer works for the charity.
The investigation was triggered by the findings of a routine internal audit. The later incident you refer to did not form any part of our internal investigation and was handled by the police. We have no further comment on either incident.”
The United States Aid for International Development (USAID) which finances the Internews project in Liberia says it is looking into the matter and will provide a response sometime this week.
The Liberia Media Development (LMD) program LMD is a five-year USAID funded program awarded to Internews as prime implementer. Internews is a noted California-based media development international NGO with a world-wide experience in more than 90 countries since 1982.
Internews was among several media development groups which put in bids for the project in Liberia for the project previously handled by IREX.
At is launching in January, Internews announced that it would work in partnership with three local and two international organizations on the implementation of the program, namely: The Liberia Media Center, the Press Union of Liberia, Accountability Lab, Albany Associates and GeoPoll.
The project is aimed at enabling, equipping and empowering the local media to access the tools and knowledge to increase their sustainability and improve their professional skills and standards.
But nearly a year after it was awarded the bid, Internews has been through the ruts amid administrative lapses.
As part of its responsibilities, the organization’s Liberia operation which was aimed at working to strengthen and improve quality media products, as well as give support to the Independent Information Commission (IIC) in the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act (2010), the LMD will essentially support increased citizens’ access to independent and reliable information that will foster well-informed public discussions on issues that affect the livelihood of the people.
Several months in, the project has failed to take off as the Liberia operation changed heads and was forced to settle with a former Deputy Chief of Party who was dismissed. Ms. Nwoke had been appointed to replace him.
Chief of Party Henri-Paul Boplap is also on his way out, set to be replaced by new Chief of Party, Jan McArthur this September.