Rivers Assembly Summons PAMO Varsity VC Over Scholarship Funds

The Rivers State House of Assembly has summoned the Vice-Chancellor of PAMO University of Medical Sciences, Port Harcourt, over the management and utilisation of scholarship funds released to the institution by the state government.

The Vice-Chancellor is expected to appear before an ad hoc committee of the Assembly on Wednesday, September 16, alongside key officials of the Rivers State Government.

Those invited include the State Accountant General, the Commissioner for Education and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education.

The Assembly wants the officials to provide details of the funds released to PAMO University and explain how the money was spent.

The summons followed the presentation of a preliminary report by the ad hoc committee investigating government funding to the university.

The committee presented the report during the 44th legislative sitting of the Assembly on Monday.

It informed lawmakers that invitation letters had already been sent to the Vice-Chancellor, the Ministry of Education and other parties connected with the investigation.

The probe is coming shortly after the Assembly removed a proposed N6 billion scholarship allocation for PAMO University from the Rivers State 2026 Appropriation Law, Politics Nigeria earlier reported.

The allocation had been part of the budget presented by Governor Siminalayi Fubara before the Assembly.

The House later approved a reduced 2026 budget of about N1.84 trillion after making adjustments to the governor’s proposal.

The lawmakers had raised questions about the proposed allocation to the privately owned university and the management of funds previously released under the scholarship arrangement.

The Assembly subsequently decided to investigate the financial relationship between the state government and PAMO University before considering further releases.

The inquiry is not limited to the N6 billion proposed for the 2026 financial year.

The ad hoc committee is also expected to examine funds released to the university from the beginning of the scholarship arrangement.

It will establish the total amount provided by the Rivers State Government, the purposes for which the funds were approved and whether they were used for those purposes.

The committee is also expected to determine the number and identities of students who benefited from the scholarship programme.

Presenting the preliminary report, the committee chairman and Deputy Speaker of the House, Dumle Maol, said the committee had taken the necessary steps to commence the inquiry.

Maol said, “In line with the provisions of Sections 128 and 129 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, and other extant laws, the Committee has done the needful, and it is awaiting the appearance of those invited.”

The constitutional provisions cited by the committee empower the state legislature to conduct investigations into matters concerning the administration of public funds and the conduct of government affairs.

The Assembly said the investigation is intended to establish facts surrounding the scholarship payments and ensure that public funds were properly accounted for.

Speaker Martin Amaewhule, who presided over Monday’s sitting, directed the committee to conduct the investigation thoroughly.

He also stressed the importance of allowing every party involved in the matter to present its side.

Amaewhule said the Assembly has the constitutional authority to invite individuals and require them to provide information and documents relevant to its investigation.

He warned those summoned against disregarding the invitation.

The Speaker said the purpose of the inquiry was to determine whether funds previously released to PAMO University were used for the purposes for which they were approved.

The institution was established in Port Harcourt in 2017. The state government subsequently became involved in supporting scholarship opportunities for Rivers indigenes studying at the university.

Previous budget documents from the state have also contained provisions connected with scholarships for students at PAMO University.

The current Assembly, however, has questioned the basis for continuing to commit large sums of public money to the institution without establishing the details of previous disbursements.

The House had earlier removed the N6 billion proposed for PAMO University while considering the 2026 budget.

The action was followed by the constitution of the ad hoc committee to trace the financial history of the scholarship programme.

The investigation comes at a time when the Rivers State Government is operating under a 2026 budget of more than N1.8 trillion.

Governor Fubara had presented an initial budget estimate of N1.854 trillion to the Assembly in July.

The budget, tagged “Budget of Resilience for Growth and Development,” placed significant emphasis on infrastructure, education, healthcare and other areas of public spending.

The final budget passed by the Assembly was later adjusted after lawmakers reviewed several provisions.