The escalating dispute between PAMO University of Medical Sciences (PUMS), Port Harcourt, and the Rivers State House of Assembly over the state’s scholarship programme has raised concerns about the academic future of about 600 students currently benefiting from the scheme.
The dispute intensified after the Rivers State House of Assembly announced that it had issued a warrant of arrest against the university’s Vice-Chancellor over his failure to appear before its ad hoc committee investigating the disbursement and utilisation of funds allocated under the scholarship programme.
The warrant was issued on Friday, September 25, 2026, during the Assembly’s 53rd legislative sitting, following consideration of the committee’s report.
The Assembly has also called for steps to recover funds which, according to the lawmakers, remain unaccounted for under the scholarship arrangement.
The lawmakers have maintained that the investigation is focused on accountability for public funds, with the committee reportedly raising questions about the amounts released under the programme and the corresponding number of students enrolled.
However, the legal status and effect of the warrant have become a point of contention, as PUMS says it had already sought judicial intervention in the matter before the Assembly issued it. The university’s position is that the dispute was therefore already before the courts when the warrant was issued. The warrant should not, in itself, be construed as a judicial finding of wrongdoing by the Vice-Chancellor or the university, and its enforceability or effect remains subject to the applicable legal process.
In a public notice signed by its Registrar, Peter I. Akubuiroh, PUMS said the university had sought to cooperate with the Assembly’s inquiry but disagreed with aspects of the process.
According to the university, it sent a representative to the committee’s sitting on September 16, but the representative was not recognised, while documents he sought to submit were allegedly not accepted.
PUMS said it subsequently sought legal protection, maintaining that the matter was already before the courts when the warrant was issued.
The university also disputed any suggestion that the Rivers State Government directly appropriates funds to the private institution.
PUMS explained that the scholarship programme is administered through the Rivers State Ministry of Education, which, according to the university, serves as the supervising government agency and maintains the relevant records and agreements.
“PAMO University of Medical Sciences is a private institution. Accordingly, neither the Rivers State Government nor the House of Assembly appropriates money directly to it. Any appropriation is made to the Ministry of Education or other government ministry, department, or agency to meet the state’s scholarship obligations,” the university stated.
PUMS further maintained that it had fulfilled its obligations under the scholarship agreement and continued to retain scholarship students despite what it described as outstanding payments of about four months.
The university said the affected students are enrolled in Medicine and Surgery, Nursing Science, Medical Laboratory Science, Radiography, Pharmacology, Physiology, Anatomy and Biochemistry, among other medical and health-related programmes.
It also disclosed that 1,166 Rivers State indigenes had benefited from the scholarship scheme since its inception, while 323 had graduated.
According to PUMS, any disruption to the scholarship arrangement could jeopardise the education of approximately 600 students currently benefiting from the programme.
The university consequently urged all parties to consider the welfare and continued education of the beneficiaries as the dispute progresses.
The Assembly’s concerns over accountability for public funds and PUMS’s position on the administration of the scholarship scheme remain disputed issues. While the lawmakers have continued to pursue their investigation, the university has challenged aspects of the process and says the matter has also entered the judicial arena.
With both legislative and judicial processes now implicated, the immediate concern is the potential impact of the dispute on hundreds of Rivers State students whose education depends on the continuation of the scholarship arrangement.
Leave a comment