The Assembly took the decision while considering the report of its Ad hoc Committee on the investigation of the state’s scholarship funding of PAMO University.
The report was presented on Friday by the committee chairman and Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon. Dumle Maol, during the 53rd legislative sitting.
The committee also recommended that the state government establish a debt recovery committee to recover all unaccounted funds allegedly held by the university and remit the recovered money into the state’s Consolidated Revenue Account.
The investigation followed the Assembly’s decision to scrutinise government funding of programmes at PAMO University since 2017. The Vice Chancellor had been invited to appear before the committee to explain how funds released under the scholarship scheme were utilised.
According to the committee’s report, the Vice Chancellor allegedly failed to honour several invitations to appear before the lawmakers.
The Assembly said the university had received more than N29 billion from the Rivers State Government under the scholarship arrangement, raising questions over the utilisation of the funds and student enrolment figures.
Presenting the report, the committee recommended measures to determine the whereabouts and utilisation of the funds released to the institution.
The Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Martin Chike Amaewhule, said the Assembly would scrutinise the matter despite the original intention of the scholarship scheme.
He said the objective of the government in entering into the agreement with PAMO University was commendable, but expressed concern over what he described as shortcomings in its implementation.
Amaewhule also raised questions over discrepancies in financial records presented by government agencies involved in the programme.
He said documents submitted by the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education and the Office of the Accountant-General appeared to be at variance.
According to him, “by simple deduction,” only about N5 billion of the more than N29 billion released to PAMO University appeared to have been utilised.
The Speaker stressed that the Assembly was determined to establish what happened to the funds and ensure accountability.
He said the House under his leadership would continue to “do the right thing irrespective of whose is involved.”
The warrant of arrest followed the committee’s claim that repeated invitations to the Vice Chancellor to appear and provide clarification on the expenditure of the scholarship funds had not been honoured.
The Assembly also directed the state government to take steps towards recovering funds it considers unaccounted for and ensuring that recovered funds are paid into the Consolidated Revenue Account.
The development places the management of PAMO University at the centre of an escalating legislative inquiry into the Rivers State Government’s multi-billion-naira scholarship arrangement with the institution.
