By STephen Ubanna
The House Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration, under the Chairmanship of Hon. Uduak Alphonsus Odudoh, an Akwa Ibom state born Lawmaker, appears to have thrown its weight behind the ministerial directive for the disbursement of the 20-yearold Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund, CVFF, to qualified indigenous shipowners to acquire ocean-going vessels.
Adeboyega Oyetola, minister of marine and blue Economy and who incidentally was a former governor of Osun state, in south western Nigeria, had issued a directive to Dayo Mobereola led Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, ‘’to commence the process that will lead to the long-awaited disbursement of the CVFF, to qualified Local shipowners on April 15, 2025.
The House Committee may have taken the bold decision to support the disbursement of the Fund because it has repeatedly urged the agency in the past to disburse the fund Roitimi Amaechi, a former governor of Rivers state, Senator Bukula Saraki, Engr. Muazu Jaji Sambo, all former ministers of Transportation, the then supervisory ministry during President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration and even the incumbent minister of minister of marine and blue economy under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Administration had accrued billion of naira between 2023 and now.
Until his resignation as the minister of Transportation in May 20222, Amaechi, the former Rivers state governor had revealed that the fund had hit the North American country of the United States, US, dollars from the 2% contributions for contracts executed in Cabotage services including levies, fees and fines that was said to have been approved by the National Assembly.
Senator Saraki, who had replaced him in office had said confirmed that US$350 million was in the fund as at the she was in office but Engr. Sambo, the Taraba state politician and a former staff of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIWA, who, who was appointed by former President Buhari to replace her towards the tail end of the Administration had corroborated the figure but noted that additional collection of N16 billion had accrued into the fund. Oyetola, the minister of marine and blue economy who had lent his voice to tell Nigerians the actual amount in the fund lodged in the Treasury Single Account, TSA, in Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, under the close watch of Olayemi Michael Cardoso had put at US400million.
The various amounts quoted by the former ministers and the immediate past Osun state governor appears to be different from the House Committee May, 2023 figure of US$700 million.
The House Committee which appears to be playing along with the ministry , under the Leadership of Oyetola, may have been encouraged to do so because its believes that ‘’there is lack of capacity amongst indigenous shipping companies in Nigeria, which may have given room to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, now baptized Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, to still awards contracts to foreign shipping companies to lift the country’s Crude Oil to International Oil markets.
Given its support for the ministerial directive for the disbursement f the CVFF, may have informed why the House Committee members led by its acting Chairman Hon. Alphonsus, as part of its oversight function had visited NIMASA in its Victoria Island office complex, in Lagos, the nation’s Commercial nerve center as part of its oversight function.
The acting House Committee appears to have taken advantage of the visit to commend Mobereola Leadership for the ongoing reforms in the agency aimed at repositioning Nigerian’s maritime industry in line with obtained in other maritime nations for global relevance.
‘’I want to commend NIMASA and the ministry of marine and marine and blue economy for steps taken so far to disburse the CVFF, which had remained a challenge to previous administrations over the years’’.
The acting House Committee Chairman on Safety, Education and Administration, ,ay have gladdened the heart of the NIMASA, Director General and his Management Team, when he noted that ‘’this will translate to job creation for the nation’s maritime industry’’.
He was happy that the NIMASA, Chief Executive Officer, CEO, and his Management Team had succeeded in maintaining ‘’no piracy policy in Nigerian waters’’ which has given the country a better mage in amongst the member countries of the International Maritime Organization, IMO.
An elated Hon. Alphonsus, was said to have sounded it loud and clear to the hearing of the NIMASA top officials who had welcomed to the agency premises in Lagos: We are supporting Nigeria’s quest to seek selection into Category C of IMO, in August ,2025 and hopefully we will win.
He had alluded to the NIMASA, CEO’s remarks in their closed- door discussion of having domesticated a record of 56 International Conventions in one fell, swoop, describing it as ‘fantastic’ and a move by the global maritime Community ‘to see Nigeria as a serious maritime nation’.
This may have informed why he had said that the Committee remains committed ‘to work, collaborate with the agency and the ministry of marine and blue economy, for the success of President Tinubu’s Government and the success of Nigeria’.
In apparent response to the acting Chairman of House Committee on Safety, Education and Administration remarks, the NIMASA CEO, who had welcomed the Committee members to the NIMASA premises in Lagos, who had expressed appreciation for the visit and cordial relation that exists between the agency and House Committee had hoped that it would be sustained.
He had lauded the Committee’s role in ‘shaping governance and policy direction of the nation’s maritime sector’, noting that such ‘oversight function and support are crucial to the agency’s continued success’. He was said to have repeatedly told the Lawmakers who were said to have listened with rapt attention that the ministerial directive for the disbursement of the CVFF, ‘’is a fait accompbli’.
Unlike other failed directives in the past for the disbursement of the fund, the NIMASA boss had given his words, that the agency is acting in accordance with the directive of the minister ‘’to ensure that indigenous shipowners finally have access to this critical funding’’.
He was said to have told the Lawmakers that the guidelines for the disbursement of the fund have been streamlined based on the minister’s approval, so as to give the qualified beneficiaries access to the fund this 2025.
He may have settled for the US $700 million as the actual amount that accrued into the CVFF, over the 20 years of its existence which had been the position of the House Committee since 2023. He had said that ‘’to manage the US$700 million intervention fund efficiently, the agency has expanded the number of Primary Lending Financial Institutions from five to 12.
Many believe that the amount that accrued into the CVFF, bandied by the various actors could have been much more than that if some of the shipping companies engaged as collection agents by the agency to collect the statutory 3% levies ,2%Cabotage surcharge as well as the offshore waste and sea protection levies have remitted their collections up to date.
Given an insider information, he had said that ‘’that ‘’the selected banks will play a key role in risk assessment, ensuring that only eligible, financially acceptable shipping companies benefit from the revolving fund’’.
Again, he had said that that ‘’the funding model will see the banks contribute 35%, NIMASA 50% and the remaining 15% as equity from the benefitting shipowners. Edward Osagie, an Assistant Director and the agency Head of Public Relations Unit, had reechoed the remarks of the Director General who had justified the reasons for engaging the services of the banks for the disbursement of the CVFF.
Quoting the NIMASA boss, who had said that ‘’by involving the banks in the disbursement of the CVFF, would ensure financial discipline and sustainability and crucial for the fund to continue long- term’’ is not far from the truth.
There are fears in both official and unofficial circles that many of the ship owners which may be approved to access the CVFF, may run into problems with the banks. The ae indicans that the Local shipowners are indebted to the banks to over US$3 billion.
It would be recalled that the US $95 million Ship Acquisition and Ship Building Fund, SASBF, established by Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo as a military Head of State, but scrapped by the late Geen. Sani Abacha’s administration in, primarily due to widespread loan defaults and non-compliance with the terms of the financing scheme.
While intended to promote Nigerian ship ownership, the fund was said to have been misused by the beneficiaries, which many of them either failing to acquire ships as expected or repay their loans which was long overdue.
