N29bn Scholarship Storm: Rivers Assembly Orders Arrest of PAMO University VC

The Rivers State House of Assembly has escalated its investigation into scholarship funds paid to PAMO University of Medical Sciences, Port Harcourt, ordering a warrant for the arrest of the institution’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Smith Jaja.

The dramatic development followed the alleged failure of the Vice-Chancellor to honour repeated invitations from an ad hoc committee of the Assembly investigating funds released to the university by the Rivers State Government since 2017. The resolution was adopted during the House’s 53rd legislative sitting on Friday, September 25, 2026.

The committee, chaired by the Deputy Speaker, Dumle Maol, had been examining the disbursement and utilisation of the scholarship funds and had directed Jaja to appear before it to provide explanations concerning the money paid to the university under the state-sponsored scholarship arrangement.

According to the committee’s report as presented to the House, more than ₦29 billion was reportedly released to PAMO University under the programme. The lawmakers raised questions about the relationship between the amount reportedly disbursed and student enrolment figures, prompting demands for detailed financial explanations.

Speaker Martin Amaewhule also questioned discrepancies in financial documents presented by the Rivers State Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education and the Office of the Accountant-General. According to the Assembly’s account, its review suggested that only about ₦5 billion of the reported ₦29 billion releases could be identified as utilised.

The Assembly has consequently urged the Rivers State Government to establish a committee to identify and recover any funds it considers unaccounted for, with instructions that recovered money should be paid into the state’s Consolidated Revenue Account. These are, however, positions contained in the Assembly’s investigation and should not be treated as a final judicial determination of liability.

The confrontation did not begin with the arrest order. Earlier in September, the Assembly summoned the Vice-Chancellor alongside the Accountant-General, Commissioner for Finance, Commissioner for Education and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education to appear before its committee. The House subsequently threatened arrest after the summonses were not honoured.

The dispute also has a legal dimension. PAMO University and Professor Jaja have approached the Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt, challenging the Assembly’s authority to investigate the affairs of the private university and contesting the threat of arrest. The matter therefore extends beyond the legislative chamber into an ongoing judicial contest.

In the latest court development reported before the Assembly’s Friday decision, Justice Mark Chukwu declined to grant an interim order sought against the House. The court reportedly adjourned the substantive fundamental-rights case filed by PAMO University and Jaja until September 29, 2026. The refusal of an interim order does not itself amount to a final determination of the legality of the Assembly’s investigation.

The controversy is also linked to the Assembly’s earlier decision to remove a proposed ₦6 billion allocation for PAMO University from the 2026 Rivers State budget. The university is owned by former Rivers State Governor, Dr Peter Odili, who serves as its Pro-Chancellor.

For now, the arrest order marks a major escalation in the standoff between the Rivers legislature and PAMO University management. With the Assembly demanding accountability over billions of naira in public scholarship expenditure and the university challenging the legislature’s powers in court, all eyes are now on the September 29 proceedings and whatever further steps may emerge from both the courtroom and the Rivers State House of Assembly.