By Daniel Abia, PORT HARCOURT

PAMO University of Medical Sciences has explained why its Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Smith Jaja, did not appear before the Rivers State House of Assembly’s Ad Hoc Committee investigating the state government’s scholarship arrangement with the institution.

The university, in a public notice signed by its Registrar, Peter Akubuiroh, said it had initially attempted to cooperate with the committee by sending a representative to its sitting on September 16, but alleged that the panel refused to recognise the representative or accept documents submitted on behalf of the university.

The university described the probe as politically motivated and said it had sought legal protection over what it considered concerns about the conduct of the investigation.

“We attempted to cooperate with the committee by sending an official representative on September 16. However, the committee refused to recognise the representative or accept the documentation presented on behalf of the university,” PAMO said.

The institution also alleged that the House had publicly accused it of mismanaging scholarship funds before concluding its investigation.

“The House of Assembly had already publicly accused the university of mismanaging state scholarship funds without proof. Our demands for a retraction and apology have not been addressed,” it said.

PAMO said it subsequently approached the court, adding that the matter remained pending.

“Given these circumstances, and our concern that the inquiry was designed to embarrass the university, PAMO University sought legal protection in court. That matter remains pending,” the university stated.

On the scholarship arrangement, the university maintained that it had fulfilled its obligations under the Memorandum of Understanding governing the programme.

It said it was a private institution and that neither the Rivers State Government nor the House of Assembly appropriated funds directly to it.

According to PAMO, funds appropriated for the scholarship programme were channelled through the Rivers State Ministry of Education and other relevant government agencies to meet the state’s obligations to eligible students.

“In practical terms, the State Government sponsors eligible students by paying fees that would otherwise be paid by their parents or other sponsors,” it stated.

The university said the scholarship covered tuition, feeding and accommodation for Rivers indigenes admitted on merit into programmes including Medicine and Surgery, Nursing Science, Medical Laboratory Science, Radiography, Pharmacology, Physiology, Anatomy and Biochemistry.

PAMO said about 600 current Rivers State scholarship beneficiaries were enrolled at the institution, warning that the dispute could disrupt their academic programmes.

It said the university had continued to accommodate the students despite outstanding school-fee payments.

“For the past four months, 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,” it said.

The university’s statement followed the Rivers State House of Assembly’s decision to issue a warrant of arrest for its Vice-Chancellor over his failure to appear before the committee.

The Assembly reached the decision during its 53rd Legislative Sitting on Friday after considering the report of the Ad Hoc Committee investigating scholarship funds released to PAMO University.

The committee, chaired by Deputy Speaker Dumle Maol, had summoned the Vice-Chancellor several times to explain the utilisation of funds released under the scholarship arrangement.

According to the committee’s report, PAMO received more than N29 billion from the Rivers State Government under the scholarship scheme, but the Assembly said the amount did not correspond with student enrolment figures, raising questions over the utilisation and accountability of the funds.

The Assembly also recommended that the Rivers State Government establish a recovery committee to identify and recover any funds it considers unaccounted for and remit recovered funds to the state’s Consolidated Revenue Account.

The university’s response provides a different account of the dispute, particularly on how the scholarship funds were structured and its obligations under the arrangement.

The Assembly had earlier removed a N6 billion allocation for PAMO University from the state’s 2026 budget during consideration of the appropriation bill.