The disagreement between PAMO University of Medical Sciences and the Rivers State House of Assembly has intensified as the university declared its resolve not to have its Vice-Chancellor appear before the Rivers State House of Assembly’s Ad Hoc Committee investigating the state government’s scholarship arrangement. The university described its probe by the Rivers State House of Assembly as politically motivated, noting that it had initially demonstrated its willingness to cooperate with the investigation by sending a representative before the committee on September 16.
The university, in a statement signed by its Registrar, Peter Akubuiroh, alleged that the panel refused to recognise the representative or receive documents submitted on behalf of the institution. He also accused the Assembly of prejudging the university by publicly alleging mismanagement of scholarship funds before establishing the facts. The Assembly, during its sitting last Friday, considered the report of the Ad Hoc Committee investigating the disbursement of scholarship funds to the university and subsequently issued a warrant of arrest for the Vice Chancellor.
The committee, chaired by the House deputy leader, Dumle Maol, had summoned the Vice Chancellor to explain the utilisation of funds released under the scholarship arrangement. The Ad Hoc committee said the university received more than N29 billion under the scholarship scheme, alleging that the funds released did not correspond with the number of students enrolled, hence the need for accountability.
PAMO claimed that the circumstances surrounding the probe raised concerns about the purpose and conduct of the investigation, prompting the institution to seek legal protection. The statement added: “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”, the varsity said.
“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.” “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.” PAMO maintained that it had fulfilled its obligations under the Memorandum of Understanding governing the programme on the scholarship arrangement, and that scholarship funds were channelled through the Rivers State Ministry of Education and other relevant government agencies to meet the state’s obligations to eligible students.
Akubuiro added: “PAMO University of Medical Sciences is a private institution. Accordingly, neither the Rivers State Government nor the House of Assembly appropriates money directly to it… “In practical terms, the State Government sponsors eligible students by paying fees that would otherwise be paid by their parents or other sponsors,” the university stated. It added that the scholarship arrangement covers tuition, feeding and accommodation for Rivers State indigenes admitted to the university on merit, adding that beneficiaries had been trained in Medicine and Surgery, Nursing Science, Medical Laboratory Science, Radiography, Pharmacology, Physiology, Anatomy and Biochemistry.
The university further stated that about 600 current Rivers State scholarship beneficiaries are enrolled at the institution, warning that the dispute could disrupt their academic programmes. “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.”
The university’s explanation came after the state Assembly issued a warrant for the arrest of its Vice-Chancellor over his alleged repeated failure to honour invitations to appear before the committee. The Assembly also urged the Rivers State Government to establish a funds recovery committee to identify and recover monies unaccounted for by the university and remit any recovered funds to the state’s Consolidated Revenue Account.
