The Registrar of PAMO University of Medical Sciences, Peter Akubuiroh, has clarified the reasons behind the institution's Vice Chancellor's absence from the Rivers State House of Assembly's Ad Hoc Committee investigating the disbursement of over N29 billion under the state government's scholarship arrangement with the university. According to Akubuiroh, the university had demonstrated its willingness to cooperate with the investigation by sending an official representative to the committee on September 16. However, the committee allegedly refused to recognise the representative or accept the documentation presented on behalf of the university.
Akubuiroh accused the Assembly of prejudging the university by publicly alleging mismanagement of scholarship funds before establishing the facts. He stated that the House of Assembly had already publicly accused the University of mismanaging State scholarship funds without proof, and that the university's demands for a retraction and apology had not been addressed. The Registrar explained that these circumstances prompted the university to seek legal protection, adding that the matter was still pending before the court.
The Rivers State House of Assembly had issued a warrant for the arrest of the Vice Chancellor over his alleged repeated failure to honour invitations to appear before the committee. The Assembly, during its 53rd Legislative Sitting, considered the report of the Ad Hoc Committee investigating the disbursement of scholarship funds to the university and subsequently issued the warrant. The committee, chaired by the Deputy Leader of the House, Dumle Maol, had invited the Vice Chancellor several times to explain the utilisation of funds released under the scholarship arrangement.
The lawmakers alleged that the university received more than N29 billion from the Rivers State Government under the scheme, but that the amount released did not correspond with the number of students enrolled, thereby raising questions about the utilisation and accountability of the funds. The Assembly also urged the Rivers State Government to establish a funds recovery committee to identify and recover monies it said were unaccounted for by the university, with any recovered funds to be remitted to the state's Consolidated Revenue Account.
PAMO University maintained that it had fulfilled its obligations under the Memorandum of Understanding governing the programme. The university explained that, being a private institution, neither the Rivers State Government nor the House of Assembly appropriated funds directly to it. Instead, funds appropriated for the scholarship scheme were channelled through the Rivers State Ministry of Education and other relevant government agencies to meet the state's obligations to eligible students.
According to the university, the scholarship covers tuition, feeding, and accommodation for Rivers State indigenes admitted to the university on merit. Beneficiaries had been admitted into programmes including Medicine and Surgery, Nursing Science, Medical Laboratory Science, Radiography, Pharmacology, Physiology, Anatomy, and Biochemistry. The university disclosed that about 600 current Rivers State scholarship beneficiaries were enrolled at the institution, warning that the dispute over the scholarship funding could disrupt their academic programmes.
The university has continued to keep these students on campus despite outstanding school-fee payments, bearing the costs of their tuition, feeding, accommodation, and related expenses for the past four months. The explanation came after the Rivers State House of Assembly's move to issue a warrant for the Vice Chancellor's arrest. Key issues remain unresolved, including the utilisation and accountability of the funds released under the scholarship arrangement.
Key points
- The PAMO University Vice Chancellor's absence from the Rivers State House of Assembly probe was due to concerns over the conduct of the inquiry.
- The university alleged that the Assembly prejudged them by publicly accusing the university of mismanaging scholarship funds without proof.
- About 600 Rivers State scholarship beneficiaries are currently enrolled at PAMO University, with the dispute over funding potentially disrupting their academic programmes.
