{
  "id": 7898003,
  "title": "Rivers Assembly threatens arrest of two commissioners over PAMO funds",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/16/rivers-assembly-threatens-arrest-of-two-commissioners-over-pamo-funds",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-16T23:42:42.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Punch Nigeria",
    "slug": "punch-nigeria",
    "url": "https://punchng.com/rivers-assembly-threatens-arrest-of-two-commissioners-over-pamo-funds/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Rivers State House of Assembly committee, tasked with investigating financial activities at PAMO University of Medical Sciences in Port Harcourt, has threatened to issue arrest warrants against two state commissioners. Led by Deputy Speaker Dumle Maol, the ad hoc committee is examining funds provided to the university by the state government between 2017 and the present day. The committee also warned it could extend these arrest warrants to the university's vice-chancellor. This threat emerged following a committee resolution at a sitting in Port Harcourt on Wednesday. The committee had earlier summoned several university officials, including the vice-chancellor, the Accountant-General of Rivers State, the Commissioner for Education, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, and the Commissioner for Finance. The university's management failed to respond to the summons, while the Commissioner for Finance and Accountant-General did show up. However, the Vice-Chancellor and the Commissioner for Education, Dr Peter Nwagor, did not appear. Maol expressed disappointment over the non-appearance of the vice-chancellor and the two commissioners. He urged them to attend on September 24, stating the committee would invoke constitutional provisions to issue arrest warrants if they missed the new date. The State House of Assembly had previously removed a substantial N6bn allocation to PAMU from the state's 2026 budget before approving and sending it to Governor Siminalayi Fubara for approval. The governor subsequently gave his consent to the budget. The committee was formed to probe the use of state funds given to the university since 2017. The university, known as PUMS, was established by former Governor Peter Odili, who also serves as its Pro-Chancellor.",
  "summary": "The Rivers State House of Assembly has threatened to issue arrest warrants for two commissioners and PAMO University VC over a probe into state funds. Read More: https://punchng.com/rivers-assembly-threatens-arrest-of-two-commissioners-over-pamo-funds/",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Punch",
        "title": "Rivers Assembly threatens arrest of two commissioners over PAMO funds",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/17/rivers-assembly-threatens-arrest-of-two-commissioners-over-pamo-funds",
        "published": "2026-09-17T00:02:43.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}