The Rivers State House of Assembly has ordered the arrest of the Vice Chancellor of PAMO University of Medical Sciences over his repeated failure to appear before its committee investigating the utilisation of more than ₦29 billion released to the university under a state government scholarship scheme.
The resolution was adopted on Friday during the Assembly’s 53rd legislative sitting, following consideration of the report of the Ad hoc Committee investigating the scholarship arrangement.
The committee, chaired by Rt. Hon. Dumle Maol, had invited the Vice Chancellor several times to explain how the funds released to the university were utilised. The Assembly said the Vice Chancellor failed to honour the invitations.
Based on the committee’s recommendation, the House resolved to issue a warrant of arrest for the Vice Chancellor.
The Assembly also called on the Rivers State Government to establish a funds recovery committee to recover all unaccounted funds allegedly held by PAMO University and pay the recovered money into the state’s Consolidated Revenue Account.
According to the committee’s report, the university received more than ₦29 billion from the state government under the scholarship scheme. The committee, however, raised concerns over the number of students enrolled under the programme in relation to the funds released.
The report also identified discrepancies in financial records submitted by the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education and the Office of the Accountant-General of the State.
Speaking during the debate on the report, the Speaker of the Assembly, Rt. Hon. Martin Chike Amaewhule, said the scholarship agreement was entered into with good intentions but expressed concern over its implementation.
Amaewhule said the documents presented by the various government agencies were inconsistent, making it difficult to establish a clear account of the funds released and utilised.
He further said the Assembly’s review indicated that only about ₦5 billion of the more than ₦29 billion released to PAMO University could be accounted for as utilised.
The Speaker said the Assembly would continue to exercise its constitutional oversight powers to ensure accountability in the management of public funds.
He stressed that no individual was above the institution, saying the Assembly would pursue the matter irrespective of the persons or interests involved.
The resolution followed an extensive investigation by the Ad hoc Committee into the scholarship arrangement between the Rivers State Government and PAMO University.
The university and its Vice Chancellor were not quoted in the Assembly’s statement as having responded to the allegations or the committee’s findings.
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