The Rivers State House of Assembly has invited the Vice-Chancellor of PAMO University of Medical Sciences, Port Harcourt, to appear before its ad hoc committee and provide explanations on scholarship funds allocated to the institution by the state government.
The State Accountant General, Commissioner for Education, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education and other relevant officials have also been summoned.
The development followed the Assembly’s decision, about two weeks ago, to remove a proposed N6bn scholarship allocation for PAMO University from the state’s 2026 budget, which is valued at more than N1.8tn.
The summons was issued during Monday’s plenary in accordance with Sections 128 and 129 of the Nigerian Constitution.
The invited officials are expected to appear before the committee on September 16. Speaker Martin Amaewhule also warned that those summoned must honour the invitation.
The Assembly said the investigation is aimed at determining how funds previously released to the university were spent and whether they were used for the purposes for which they were approved.
According to a statement by the Speaker’s Special Assistant on Media, Martins Wachukwu, the invitation followed the preliminary report submitted by the House ad hoc committee investigating scholarship funding to the university.
The committee had informed the Assembly that invitation letters were sent to the university’s Vice-Chancellor, the Ministry of Education and other relevant parties involved in the inquiry.
Presenting the report, the committee chairman and Deputy Speaker, Dumle Maol, said, “In line with the provisions of Sections 128 and 129 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, and other extant laws, the Committee has done the needful, and it is awaiting the appearance of those invited.”
Amaewhule directed the committee to conduct the investigation thoroughly while ensuring that all parties involved are given a fair hearing.
He also maintained that the Assembly has the constitutional authority to summon individuals to provide evidence and documents required for its investigation.
The statement recalled that the Assembly had earlier acted on the recommendation of its Appropriation Committee by removing the N6bn scholarship grant proposed for PAMO University from the 2026 Appropriation Law.
Following that decision, the House established the ad hoc committee to examine the amount of money disbursed to the university since its establishment and determine how the funds were utilised.
