24-Hour Countdown: PAMO Varsity Threatens Court Action Against Rivers Assembly Speaker

By Ken Asinobi …Says 'We Were Never Summoned' A fresh legal confrontation is brewing between PAMO University of Medical Sciences, Rivers State, and the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule, as the institution has issued a 24-hour ultimatum demanding the retraction of alleged defamatory remarks or face court action. PAMO University, through its solicitor, Ayodeji Adedipe, SAN, accused the Speaker of making statements capable of portraying the institution as having failed to account for scholarship funds allocated to it by the Rivers State Government. The demand was contained in a letter dated Thursday, September 3, 2026, following comments allegedly made by Amaewhule while presenting the 2026 Rivers State Appropriation Act to Governor Siminalayi Fubara for assent at the Government House, Port Harcourt. At the centre of the emerging dispute is an alleged claim by the Speaker that the House committee responsible for scrutinising the 2026 budget had considered a proposal of about N6 billion for PAMO University, but raised concerns over the institution's transparency in managing funds previously allocated to it. According to the university's legal counsel, the Speaker allegedly questioned what had happened to taxpayers' money provided to the institution over the years. The Speaker was also alleged to have stated that PAMO University had been invited before the relevant House committee but failed to appear and did not submit the records or reports demanded by the Assembly. But PAMO University has vehemently rejected the claims, describing them as 'totally false and unfounded.' In what could become the defining issue in the unfolding dispute, the university declared that it had never been invited by the Rivers State House of Assembly, or any other body, to account for funds provided by the state government under the scholarship scheme for Rivers students. The institution maintained that since the commencement of the scholarship programme, it had applied the funds strictly and judiciously for the purpose for which they were provided. PAMO said the alleged remarks had caused considerable embarrassment to its management and damaged its reputation, particularly the suggestion that the university lacked transparency in handling scholarship funds. Its lawyers argued that the statements, as understood by an average person, portrayed PAMO as an irresponsible and fraudulent institution that had either mismanaged or diverted funds meant to support the education of Rivers State students. The university therefore demanded an immediate retraction of the alleged statements and a formal apology from the Speaker. It gave Amaewhule 24 hours from the time of notification to comply with the demands. The ultimatum has now introduced a legal countdown into what began as a dispute over the scrutiny of the Rivers State budget and scholarship funding. PAMO's lawyers warned that if the Speaker fails or refuses to retract the alleged statements and apologise within the stipulated period, the university will proceed to institute legal proceedings against him before a court of competent jurisdiction 'without further reference' to him. The dispute also raises broader questions about legislative oversight and accountability in the management of public funds, particularly money allocated for the education of Rivers students. While the Assembly's alleged concerns centre on transparency and accountability, PAMO's response is that such concerns cannot be justified by claims that it failed to appear before a committee or account for funds when, according to the institution, it was never summoned in the first place. The controversy could therefore develop beyond a dispute over alleged defamatory remarks into a broader examination of how scholarship funds are monitored, how institutions are invited to account for public allocations, and the procedures followed by legislative committees when conducting oversight. For now, however, attention is firmly fixed on the 24-hour deadline issued by PAMO University. If the demand is not met, the university has made clear that its next move will be in court.