PAMO University gives Rivers speaker 24 hours to retract alleged defamatory remarks and threatens lawsuit

Pamo University of Medical Sciences has given Martin Amaewhule, speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, 24 hours to withdraw statements it called “malicious and defamatory” or face a lawsuit.

The dispute centers on a proposed 6 billion naira allocation to the university in the 2026 Rivers State budget. At the same time, state lawmakers have formed an ad hoc committee to examine government disbursements to the institution since its creation in 2017.

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Malicious and defamatory.

In a letter dated Sept. 3, 2026, the university’s lawyer, Ayodeji Adedipe, accused Amaewhule of making the remarks while presenting the state’s appropriation act to the governor for assent at the Government House in Port Harcourt.

According to the letter, Amaewhule said an assembly committee had found that the university lacked transparency in managing funds allocated over the years. He was also alleged to have said the state could not determine what happened to taxpayers’ money and that the university failed to appear before the committee or submit records and reports.

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Strictly and judiciously.

Pamo University strongly denied those claims. Through its lawyers, it said neither the Rivers State House of Assembly nor any other body had invited it to explain how it used government funds provided under a scholarship program for Rivers students. The university said it had applied the money “strictly and judiciously” for the purpose for which it was provided.

The institution said the allegations damaged its reputation. Its lawyers argued that an ordinary person would understand the remarks to mean the university was irresponsible and fraudulent, had mismanaged the money and diverted funds intended for students’ education. The university demanded an immediate retraction and an apology.

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By your referenced statement, an average person would understand you to mean that Pamo University of Medical Sciences is an irresponsible and fraudulent institution that has not only mismanaged but that it has diverted the fund paid to it by the Rivers State Government for the education of the students in that school.