The member representing Degema/Bonny Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Cyril Hart, has weighed in on the ongoing dispute between the Rivers State House of Assembly and PAMO University of Medical Sciences over funds released under the state’s scholarship programme.
Hart urged the university to cooperate with the Assembly’s investigation, stressing that the institution’s private ownership does not automatically shield it from scrutiny when public funds are involved.
The lawmaker made the position known in a post on his verified Facebook page while reacting to the steps taken by the Rivers Assembly in its investigation into funding received by PAMO University.
The Assembly had earlier constituted a seven-member ad hoc committee to examine funds disbursed to the university by the Rivers State Government since 2017.
The committee, chaired by the Deputy Speaker, Dumle Maol, was also directed to establish how the money was utilised and identify beneficiaries of the scholarship programme.
The investigation has since generated tension between the legislature and the university.
The Rivers Assembly recently ordered the arrest of the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Smith Jaja, after accusing him of repeatedly failing to appear before the committee.
The House also recommended that the state government establish a mechanism to recover any funds it considers unaccounted for and return such money to the state’s Consolidated Revenue Account.
According to the Assembly’s report, PAMO University received more than N29 billion from the Rivers State Government under the scholarship arrangement.
The House raised questions about the relationship between the amount released and the number of students enrolled under the programme.
Speaker Martin Amaewhule also questioned discrepancies in financial documents presented by government agencies during the investigation.
Hart, however, approached the matter from the standpoint of the legislative powers to investigate the use of public resources.
He referred to Sections 1 and 2 of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, 2017.
According to him, the law provides protection for legislators over statements made during plenary or committee proceedings and gives legislative houses powers to summon persons and request information relevant to an investigation.
“It was, therefore, an aberration, in my view, for PAMO University to ask the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly to withdraw and apologise for a statement made during plenary,” he said.
Hart said the powers of a legislative house to conduct an inquiry are not limited only to government ministries, departments and agencies.
He argued that the powers also cover individuals, companies and private institutions where the subject of an investigation concerns public money or matters within the legislature’s oversight responsibility.
The lawmaker pointed to previous investigations by the National Assembly in which private companies were invited to answer questions concerning government funds and programmes.
He said the fact that an organisation is privately owned does not, by itself, prevent lawmakers from asking questions where public resources are involved.
“PAMO University has received funds from the Rivers State Government under the State’s scholarship programme. Its private status therefore does not, by itself, place it beyond legislative inquiry,” he said.
The disagreement has also centred on the nature of the scholarship arrangement between the Rivers State Government and PAMO University.
PAMO has maintained that it is a private university and disputed the Assembly’s description of how the scholarship funds were handled.
In a statement issued by its Registrar, Peter Akubuiroh, the university said it had attempted to engage with the committee but alleged that its representative was not recognised when he appeared before the panel on September 16.
The university also said it later sought legal protection and maintained that the matter was before the court.
PAMO further stated that the scholarship arrangement involved the state sponsoring eligible Rivers indigenes admitted into various programmes at the institution.
It listed courses including Medicine and Surgery, Nursing Science, Medical Laboratory Science, Radiography, Pharmacology, Physiology, Anatomy and Biochemistry.
The university said about 600 Rivers State scholarship beneficiaries were currently enrolled and claimed that it had continued to accommodate the students despite outstanding payments from the government.
The Assembly’s probe followed its decision to remove a proposed N6 billion allocation for PAMO University from the Rivers State 2026 budget.
The House subsequently approved the state’s N1.8 trillion-plus 2026 budget after the allocation was removed and proceeded with the investigation into previous disbursements to the institution.
Hart has now called for the disagreement to be resolved through the available legislative and legal processes.
He urged the university to avoid further escalation and engage with the committee.
The lawmaker said PAMO should “explore internal mechanisms to resolve this avoidable conflict and cooperate with the lawful legislative process”.
