The Rivers State House of Assembly has officially ordered the issuance of an arrest warrant for the Vice Chancellor of PAMO University of Medical Sciences. The lawmakers reached this decisive resolution during a plenary session while deliberating on the findings and recommendations of its Ad hoc Committee, which was tasked with probing the management and utilization of the state’s scholarship funds allocated to the institution.
The comprehensive investigative report was formally submitted to the floor of the House on Friday by the Chairman of the Ad hoc Committee and Deputy Speaker, Hon. Dumle Maol . The presentation and subsequent adoption of the committee’s recommendations took place during the assembly’s 53rd Legislative Sitting , marking a significant escalation in the parliament’s oversight of public funds.
The committee had in their report recommended that warrant of arrest be issued on the Vice Chancellor, and for the State Government to set up a committee to recover all unaccounted funds in possession of the PAMO University and deposit them in the Consolidated Revenue Account of the State.
The assembly had opened an investigation into the state government’s funding of programmes in the university since 2017 and had invited the Vice Chancellor of the University for questioning.
House, however, took the resolution amidst the alleged refusal of the PAMO University Vice Chancellor to appear before the Ad hoc Committee after several invitations, to explain how money given to the university under the scholarship scheme was expended.
The Ad hoc Committee’s report meticulously detailed how PAMO University of Medical Sciences received over ₦29 billion from the state government without a justifiable or corresponding number of student enrolments. The panel noted that these severe discrepancies between the massive financial disbursements and actual student figures likely explain why the Vice Chancellor repeatedly ignored and avoided official parliamentary invitations to defend the funds.
Reacting to these findings, the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Martin Chike Amaewhule , observed that while the state government originally meant well when it established the partnership and scholarship scheme agreement, the actual execution of the program had completely failed. He expressed strong disapproval regarding the conflicting financial records submitted by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Education, and the Office of the Accountant-General, noting that a simple deduction indicates the university only properly utilized ₦5 billion out of the ₦29 billion it received.
Reaffirming the parliament’s mandate, Speaker Amaewhule maintained that the Rivers State House of Assembly remains steadfast in its constitutional duty to ensure accountability, regardless of who is involved. He emphasized that no single individual or institution can ever be considered larger than the legislature, which derives its oversight powers directly from the Constitution.
During its 53rd Legislative Sitting , the Rivers State House of Assembly issued an arrest warrant for the Vice Chancellor of PAMO University of Medical Sciences following a recommendation by its Ad-hoc Committee, which is probing state scholarship funds allocated to the institution since 2017. The resolution—presented by Deputy Speaker Hon. Dumle Maol and backed by Speaker Rt. Hon. Martin Chike Amaewhule —came after the Vice Chancellor repeatedly ignored invitations to explain massive financial discrepancies, where the school allegedly received over ₦29 billion from the government but only utilized roughly ₦5 billion based on actual student enrollments. Citing conflicting records from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Education, and the Accountant-General’s office, the legislature has formally urged the state government to establish a dedicated debt recovery committee to reclaim the remaining unaccounted billions and deposit them directly back into the state’s Consolidated Revenue Account.
