The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) said within the next six months, the agency will resolve the delay in the disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF).
The Director-General of NIMASA, Bashir Jamoh made this known yesterday, during a courtesy visit by members of the Nigerian Chambers of Shipping (NCS) and the Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Shipping, Panos Gliatis.
One of the major unfulfilled goals for advancing the country’s Blue Economy, as indicated by Jamoh, is the distribution of the CVFF.
“I appeal that we move back to the drawing board and see how we can revive this so that ship owners can have vessels that will enable our young ones to have jobs and reduce insecurity in the country.
“To address the bottlenecks, we have other Private Lending Institutions (PLIs) that will come in and compete with the others that we have and we have also gone far in the establishment of a maritime bank.
”We have been discussing with your predecessors and this was centered on the issue of disbursements of the CVFF and at that time the NNPC promised to Provide data in terms of ships we intend to procure.
“The guidelines provide that NIMASA will provide 50 per cent of the cost of the vessel, the PLIs, the banks will provide 35 per cent while the beneficiary will provide 15 per cent.
“This is a way of trying to protect public funds and to remove ourselves from the previous experience of shipping frauds.”
He explained at that junction, the NNPC Shipping agreed to take off nine percent from the beneficiaries, noting that the “beneficiaries will pay six percent and our discussion did not stop at what they can contribute.”
Jamoh assured that all stakeholders would also be involved in strengthening the interest rate.
“We have gone far and the disagreement now is that the PLIs are insisting on the interest rate of 7.5 per cent, while NIMASA and NNPC Shipping are saying that they will only pay 6.5 per cent,” he said.
To expedite the funds’ disbursement, Jamoh said that the matter would be discussed with NNPC Shipping’s managing director.
Jamoh clarified that the Federal Government’s creation of the Marine and Blue Economy Ministry was done to focus more on the advantages and profits of the blue economy.
He described as ideal the timing of the partnership with NNPC Shipping.
According to him, the government resolved to establish a ministry to oversee the formulation of regulations aimed at promoting the growth of shipping and other associated industries to support the expansion of the blue economy.
Before this, the NNPC Shipping boss, Gliatis, declared that the goal of the visit was to guarantee industry stakeholders’ collaboration for development and economic expansion.
“This is not a new partnership but just to continue with what we had in the past.
“Obviously, the situation has changed, in NNPC and there is a new government, we need to see the jobs that have been done so far, opportunities, and agree on the path for the future,” he said.
The NCS President, Aminu Umar, in his remark, revealed that shipowners operating under the NCS’s auspices had a dialogue on shipping in the nation with NNPC shipping.
Umar expressed confidence that the funds’ distribution would lead to investment opportunities and the creation of jobs, thereby enhancing economic growth.
