Dr. Peter Odili, a former governor of Rivers State, has advised PAMO University of Medical Sciences employees in Port Harcourt to report any female student who engages in sexual harassment without holding back in order for management to take proper action.
In a similar vein, the university’s owner and pro-chancellor, Odili, urged students to report any staff members who violated their privacy in any way, stressing that appropriate consequences would follow.
He made this statement on Monday during the institution’s 7th Matriculation for the 2023–2024 academic year, which was held in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State.
In addition to telling the recently admitted students that they had just arrived to start their road to greatness—saying, “Your future is now in your hands”—Odili also stated that the university is positioned to generate highly sought-after healthcare professionals.
He added, “Take pains to study your handbooks, obey the rules. You have heard the Vice Chancellor tell you about zero tolerance. So parents don’t come begging when there is an infringement because the consequences are spelt out.
“We are determined to produce professionals in healthcare who people will struggle to go and be treated by. To achieve that, all hands must be on deck. Zero tolerance means zero tolerance.”
Odili added, “Students take note, any staff that harasses you in any way, report that staff. Don’t be afraid to report, don’t suffer, and die in silence. Report, and the council will take action.
“And for the staff, you have heard that we (the university) are ranked number one in the country for female enrolment. Any female student that tries in the opposite direction to harass any staff, reports that student and action will be taken.
“While the academic staff and administrative staff are doing their best to give you the best of learning, the council is interested in ensuring that you qualify in character and learning. Character is important because that is the sole determinant of who you will be at the end of your studies.”
Earlier in her speech, Prof. Christie Mato, the acting vice chancellor of PAMO University of Medical Sciences, said that 198 students had matriculated, with almost 76% of them enrolled in the MBBS program.
Mato praised Nyesom Wike, the former governor of Rivers State, for granting scholarships to 100 Rivers students accepted into the university each year since it opened.
She added, “We also appreciate our present amiable and peace-loving Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, for continuing with that legacy and adding another 50 to it, giving a total of 150 scholarships to Rivers indigenes admitted into PAMO University of Medical Sciences.
“To date, we have a total of 797 students from 100 level to 600 level, in the various programmes of Medicine, Nursing, Radiography, Med Lab Science, Physiotherapy, Anatomy, Pharmacology, Physiology and Biochemistry; all our programmes are accredited, and so far, three sets of students have graduated from this University.”
The VC congratulated the new undergraduates and their parents, describing the school as a mono-discipline university that specializes only in health-related programs and that has zero tolerance for, among other things, cultism, harassment, bullying, fighting, examination misconduct, and substance abuse.
