The Rivers State House of Assembly has issued a warrant of arrest for the Vice-Chancellor of PAMO University of Medical Sciences (PUMS), owned by former Governor Peter Odili. The assembly took this decision following the VC's failure to appear before an ad-hoc committee investigating N28 billion paid to the university by the state government for scholarships.
The committee, headed by Deputy Speaker Dumle Maol, had insisted that the VC must appear in person to justify the utilisation of the funds. As the university's chief accounting officer, the VC was required to speak directly to financial documents presented by the state Ministries of Finance and Education.
The committee chronicled how PAMO received over N29 billion from the state government, with no corresponding students' enrolment. This gave credence to the reason behind the VC's refusal to honour the invitations. Maol complained that PAMO failed to appear when other stakeholders, including the Accountant-General and Commissioners for Finance and Education, honoured the committee's invitation.
The House, after deliberating on the report presented by Maol, resolved to issue a warrant of arrest on the Vice-Chancellor in line with the recommendation of the committee. The House also urged the state government to set up a committee to recover all unaccounted funds in possession of PAMO University and deposit them in the Consolidated Revenue Account of the state.
Speaker Martin Amaewhule acknowledged the good intentions behind the government scholarships but lamented their faulty implementation. He frowned on a situation where documents presented by the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education, and the Office of the Accountant-General were at variance.
Amaewhule said that by simple deduction, out of over N29 billion released by the state government to PAMO University, the school only utilised N5 billion. He harped on the determination of the Assembly to do the right thing, stressing that no individual could be bigger than the House as an institution empowered by the Constitution.
The lawmakers' decision was based on Section 129(A), (B) and (C) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, which backs the committee's powers to summon the university's chief accounting officer. A statement signed by Martins Wachukwu, the Special Assistant to the Speaker, confirmed the House's resolution to issue a warrant of arrest on the Vice-Chancellor.
Key points
- The Rivers State House of Assembly issued an arrest warrant for the Vice-Chancellor of PAMO University of Medical Sciences.
- The warrant was issued due to the VC's failure to appear before an ad-hoc committee investigating N28 billion paid to the university for scholarships.
- The Assembly also urged the state government to recover unaccounted funds in possession of PAMO University.
