Rivers Assembly threatens arrest of two commissioners over PAMO funds

File photo: Rivers State House of Assembly

The Rivers State House of Assembly committee set up to investigate the financial activities of PAMO University of Medical Sciences, Port Harcourt, has threatened to issue warrants of arrest against two commissioners in the state.

The ad hoc committee, led by the Deputy Speaker, Dumle Maol, is investigating funds disbursed to PAMO University by the state government from 2017 to date.

It also threatened to extend the arrest warrants to the vice-chancellor of the university.

The committee disclosed this following a resolution at its sitting in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.

The arrest threat followed a summons issued by the Assembly earlier this week, directing the Vice-Chancellor of PAMO University, the Accountant-General of Rivers State, the Commissioner for Education, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education and the Commissioner for Finance to appear before it on Wednesday.

The House had alleged that the management of the institution failed to honour an earlier invitation to explain how state funds released to it for scholarships for Rivers indigenes were utilised.

However, at the committee’s sitting, the Vice-Chancellor of PAMO University, the Commissioner for Finance and the Accountant-General of the state failed to appear.

The Commissioner for Education, Dr Peter Nwagor, however, honoured the House’s invitation.

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Maol expressed disappointment over the failure of the vice-chancellor and the two commissioners to appear before the committee.

He, however, urged the vice-chancellor and the commissioners to appear before the committee on Thursday, September 24, noting that it would rely on relevant provisions of the Constitution to invoke warrants of arrest if they failed to appear on the new date.

Recall that the State House of Assembly, led by its Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, removed the over N6bn allocated to PAMO University of Medical Sciences from the state’s 2026 budget before passing it and presenting it to Governor Siminalayi Fubara for assent.

During the presentation of the budget to the governor, Amaewhule explained why the N6bn allocation was rejected and removed.

The governor subsequently assented to the budget.

The House later set up the committee to investigate the use of state funds allocated to the university since 2017.

PUMS, as the university is popularly known, was founded by former Rivers State Governor, Dr Peter Odili, who is also its Pro-Chancellor.