The Rivers State House of Assembly has ordered the immediate arrest of Professor Smith I. Jaja, Vice Chancellor of PAMO University of Medical Sciences, for repeatedly refusing to appear before a House committee. The committee is investigating the disbursement of scholarship funds to the institution. The arrest warrant was issued during the Assembly's 53rd legislative sitting on Friday, September 26, 2026.
According to Martins Wachukwu, Special Assistant on Media to the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, the committee, led by Deputy Leader Dumle Maol, had invited Professor Jaja several times to explain how funds released to the university under the scholarship arrangement were utilised. The Assembly received reports that the university received over N29 billion from the Rivers State Government under the scholarship scheme.
However, the Assembly found discrepancies between the amount received by the university and student enrolment figures. The report did not provide details on the number of students or the expected utilisation of the funds. The Assembly's investigation revealed potential irregularities in the management of the scholarship funds.
The Speaker of the House, Martin Chike Amaewhule, expressed concerns over the implementation of the scholarship agreement. He noted inconsistencies among documents submitted by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Education, and the Office of the Accountant-General of the State. The Speaker stated that the documents did not provide a consistent accounting of the funds released to the university.
Based on the Assembly's assessment of the records, only about N5 billion of the more than N29 billion released to PAMO University appeared to have been utilised. The Speaker frowned at the discrepancies and the lack of transparency in the management of the scholarship funds. The Assembly's findings suggested that a significant portion of the funds may not have been used for their intended purpose.
The Rivers State House of Assembly has asked the state government to set up a funds recovery committee to identify and recover all unaccounted funds allegedly in the possession of PAMO University. The recovered money is expected to be returned to the state's Consolidated Revenue Account. The committee's task will be to investigate the utilisation of the scholarship funds and recover any misused or unaccounted funds.
The case highlights concerns over the management of public funds in Nigeria's education sector. The arrest of Professor Jaja and the recovery of unaccounted funds are expected to bring transparency and accountability to the scholarship scheme. The Rivers State House of Assembly's actions demonstrate its commitment to overseeing the proper utilisation of public funds.
Key points
- The Rivers State House of Assembly has ordered the arrest of PAMO University VC, Professor Smith I. Jaja, over alleged misuse of N29 billion scholarship funds.
- The Assembly found discrepancies between the amount received by the university and student enrolment figures.
- Only about N5 billion of the more than N29 billion released to PAMO University appeared to have been utilised.
