Drama In Rivers As Assembly Orders Arrest Of PAMO University VC

The Rivers State House of Assembly has ordered the arrest of the Vice-Chancellor of PAMO University of Medical Sciences, Professor Smith I. Jaja, following his repeated failure to appear before an ad hoc committee investigating scholarship funds released to the institution by the state government.

The resolution was reached during the Assembly’s 53rd legislative sitting on Friday, September 25, after the committee, chaired by the Deputy Leader of the House, Dumle Maol, presented its findings on the scholarship scheme.

According to Bush Radio Academy, the committee had invited the university’s Vice-Chancellor several times to provide information on how funds allocated to PAMO University under the Rivers State scholarship programme were utilised. The Assembly said the Vice-Chancellor’s continued absence prompted the decision to issue an arrest warrant.

The lawmakers said their investigation showed that PAMO University had received more than ₦29 billion from the Rivers State Government under the scholarship arrangement. The Assembly also raised concerns about discrepancies between the funds reportedly released and the number of students said to have benefited from the programme.

Based on the committee’s findings, the Assembly directed the Rivers State Government to establish a recovery committee to determine the amount of funds that remain unaccounted for and recover any money found to be outstanding. Any recovered funds are expected to be returned to the state’s Consolidated Revenue Account.

Speaker Martin Chike Amaewhule also questioned discrepancies in financial documents presented by the state Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education and the Office of the Accountant-General.

According to the Assembly’s assessment, records before the lawmakers indicated that only about ₦5 billion out of the more than ₦29 billion reportedly released to PAMO University could be traced to utilisation.

The development follows weeks of tension between the Assembly and the university over the investigation. Earlier in September, the lawmakers had summoned the Vice-Chancellor and several state officials to explain how scholarship funds allocated to PAMO University since 2017 were spent.

PAMO University has challenged the Assembly’s authority to investigate the institution’s affairs in court. The Rivers State High Court previously declined an application for an interim order against the Assembly, while a related fundamental-rights case involving the university and Professor Jaja was adjourned to September 29.

The Assembly’s latest action therefore adds another layer to the ongoing dispute over the management and utilisation of scholarship funds provided to the university by the Rivers State Government.