For the umpteenth time, the federal government has announced plans to immediately disburse the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) currently estimated to be $700 million. The money is sourced from the 2 per cent deduction from the cabotage trade.

According to local ship owners and industry stakeholders, the report that the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, has directed the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to initiate the process that will lead to the disbursement of the fund, does not call for celebrations yet, especially as there are no signs of release on the horizon.

They added that despite 22 years of contributions by Nigerian ship owners under the Coastal and Inland Shipping Act, there is still no clear accounting of how much has been accumulated.

They are thus calling for immediate disclosure of the exact amount remitted and a comprehensive audit of the fund to restore confidence in government-backed maritime financing mechanisms.

Ship owners who spoke with Daily Sun expressed frustration and questioned whether the fund still exists in the designated account.

The Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF), established under the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act of 2003, was envisioned as a catalyst for empowering Nigerian shipping firms through structured financing for vessel acquisition. Yet, over two decades later, the fund remains largely dormant, with successive administrations failing to bring it to life.

As a result, Nigeria continues to miss out on the economic benefits of transporting its own cargo and reportedly loses over $100 billion annually for lacking a functional national fleet to participate meaningfully in international trade.

Speaking with Daily Sun, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Nigerian Ship owners’ Association (NISA), Isaac Jolapamo, said ship owners are taking a wait-and-see approach following the government’s pronouncement, as there is still no clarity on the criteria for accessing the fund. According to him, no official guidelines have been communicated to the ship owners, leaving them in the dark about the next steps.

“How would I know if there is any sign for the disbursement of the CVFF when I’m not a soothsayer? We are just watching and listening. We are no longer fighting now.

“We are waiting to see what the government will do. Whether the money is there or not, nobody can say. You have heard from the people who were even in charge of the place before.

“It is not today’s thing. Let us just keep our cool and see the next thing. What I can assure you is that the association is prepared for whatever they want to do. I think that is what I can say for now,” he explained.

Speaking on the documentation required to access the fund, he noted that the government had previously outlined a procedure, but that ship owners are uncertain whether that framework will still be upheld.

He emphasised the need for clarity on whether the original process will be respected or replaced with a new one.

“I can tell you that the foremost association, which is NISA today, has prepared themselves to approach the government to give the money. The first set of people that started paying for that fund are coming as a block.

“The association has formed a company which they are going to use to access the fund. I’m sure when we get to the bridge, we will know how to cross it,” he said.

Also speaking with Daily Sun, one of the prominent ship owners, Mr. Ayorinde Adedoyin, said every minister that has come in had said the same thing, that the money should be disbursed, and NIMASA was working on it, but ended up undone.

“Like I keep saying, are you even sure the money is still there? And if you’re saying they should disburse, who are you going to disburse to? Which companies are they going to disburse to? Is it the first company that applied for the money about 10 years ago or 12 years ago that they are going to give the money to, or are they just going to start a new process where new companies are going to come in? It doesn’t make sense.

“There’s a lot of confusion there and I don’t know because I hope at the end of the day, there won’t be litigation over this issue. When they said disburse, they needed to come back to a round table and tell us how much the money was. Do you even know how much we have? No, nobody knows.

“And they have not told us that these are the ones they’ve given to the banks. This is how much interest the money has accrued. We cannot continue to listen to disburse today and disburse tomorrow. This money is not the government’s money and that is the annoying part of it.

“They are just the custodians of the money. Ship owners contribute that money, and so the government alone cannot disburse it because it is not their money.

“Because you’re given the custodian of the money does not give you the authority on managing the money, you need to call the people who contributed to a round table and ask them what they think. This is what we think, and they, too, will come up with their ideas,” he said.

He stated that once this issue is addressed, a positive outcome is possible, adding that the government seems to perceive the funds as their own, rather than acknowledging that it belongs to the ship owners.

Is it money that they borrowed from the shipping industry or what? No, we contributed that money from two per cent of our earnings, and it went into that money. As for me, I still don’t believe that they’re going to disburse that money. But I’ll be surprised if they disburse that money,” he added.

He said about four ministers have said the same thing before this one, saying the whole thing is becoming a joke.

However, he said ship owners don’t even know how to access the money because the government has not released anything on that.

“I don’t know the criteria needed to access it. I won’t lie to you. So, I think they should be the ones telling us what they want to do. I don’t know what they want to do,” he said.

Sola Adewunmi, NISA President, said: “I can’t say if there is any sign that the money will be disbursed. Yes. I’m not a government official. I will not know that. They’ve been promising, and promising. We just believe that this time around, they will fulfill their promise. That’s what I can say as far as the disbursement is concerned,” he said.

On the criteria for accessing the fund, he said NIMASA and the primary lending banks basically are going to give the ship owners, the active people, and the guidelines.

“But at the same time, the criteria will be set by both NIMASA and the primary lending banks because NIMASA will tell you they are not lending institutions. They are doing everything through the primary lending institution that we call PLI. It is whatever criteria they agree on that they will bring out for us.

“But as I speak to you, the criteria have not been given to us. But one thing we all know is that it’s supposed to be a participatory facility. What do I mean by participatory? NIMASA will drop 50 per cent, the bank is supposed to drop 35 per cent as the primary lending institution, while the ship owners are supposed to look for 15 per cent.

“And the loan is going to be guaranteed by the banks because, as I said earlier, these people will tell you they are not lending institutions. That it is only the banks that can work on that one.

“But one thing is sure, they will dialogue with the banks in such a way that they will agree on the lending rate that they are going to use. So it’s not as if the rate is going to be at their prerogative. The rate is going to be as agreed with NIMASA,” he explained.

Another ship owner who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that the Federal Government and National Assembly are not being sincere about the status of the money.

He said that there were no signs that the money would be disbursed soon because Oyetola would not be the first Minister to make such an announcement, saying that those are political statements dished out to raise the hope of ship owners.

He said: “When former President Muhammadu Buhari gave the order to disburse it, what happened after that, even before he left office? He queried.

He noted that the Nigerian government likes playing too much and paying lip service to things that matter to the heart of the nation’s economy.

“Don’t be surprised that the money will not be disbursed because nobody knows the status of the money. We have been saving the money for the past 20 years; all we heard was that the money would be disbursed. Somebody like me is already losing hope that this money will never be disbursed. Do you know why? We have been hearing this disbursement since 2010 and the money is not yet disbursed.

“Most of us are no longer interested in the shipping business. A lot of us have relocated abroad. How do you expect us to continue when we don’t have ships to do seaborne trade? The foreign liners will continue to dominate the industry due to our inability to own a ship that can put us on the global map. We are waiting for the day the money will be disbursed. For now, all fingers are crossed!” he said. (Daily Sun)