A stakeholder in the maritime industry, Dr. Oluwasegun Musa has tasked the Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Dr. Dayo Mobereola on the need to audit the total amount that has accrued into the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) so far and make it public.
Maritime Bits had reported that CVFF is a two per cent contribution by local ship owners from every operation that they embark upon and was meant to be given back to Nigerian ship owners as low interest loans to help them acquire new ships.
Musa who is the Chairman and Chief Consultant, Global Transport Policy also alleged that the $360 million that has accrued into CVFF so far has been depleted by the Federal Government.
While expressing dismay that CVFF has not achieved the purpose of its establishment, he maintained that it was meant for empowering Nigerian ship owners.
He argued that the only way to ascertain the true state of things with the $360 million that has accrued into CVFF so far is for Mobereola to audit the account and make it public.
Musa stated this at the September 2024 edition of the monthly round table meeting with maritime stakeholders organized by the umbrella body of journalists covering the maritime sector of the economy, the Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria (MARAN) at its secretariat situated at Marine Road, Apapa GRA, Lagos recently.
According to him, the inability of NIMASA to disclose exactly how much has accrued into the fund since its establishment in 2003 till date has given room for speculations in some quarters as no one outside government can say with certainty the exact amount in it.
Giving an insight on the need to audit the account and make it public, Musa said: “A comprehensive audit of the fund will determine how much has been contributed so far, who are those that have contributed and where the money is presently. This will finally lay to rest the various figures officials of NIMASA have given at different times as the total amount that accrued into the fund so far”.
When journalists asked him to show proof that the Federal Government has depleted the money that has so far accrued into the fund, he argued that the onus was on the management of NIMASA to do so.
He argued that since NIMASA is the custodian of the funds, it should be bold to say publicly what has happened to the funds.
His words: “Talking about the CVFF is a very pathetic one. Sorry if I am a bit emotional about it. For every rumour, there is always an element of truth in it. I remember vividly that at different forums, I have asked NIMASA, can you please audit the total collection up to date since the time they started collecting CVFF. If a company is unable to audit its account, there will be suspicion of fraud. If a country is unable to audit its account, there will always be suspicion of fraud or mismanagement.
“So if you say Musa said NIMASA cannot account for the CVFF collection, let it come out and tell you tomorrow, come and see the audited account so that we can see what it has collected so far and how much is left in the account as at today. If you are not transparent, it gives room for suspension. The money collected is not for the government to keep. The more you keep it, the more you deprive indigenous players in the shipping sector of the economy and kill the maritime industry. This is due to the fact that Nigerian ship owners are not buying ships alone. They are also building capacity. They are doing technical transfer. They are creating jobs and we will be moving more freight”.
The transport expert averred that as long as the funds are not disburse to qualified Nigerian ship owners, Nigeria nay Nigerians will continue to suffer untold hardship.
His words: “We are the one suffering as long as that money is being kept with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). What is the essence of keeping the money when the money does not belong to you? Disburse it and let the indigenous ship owners start working and create opportunity for others that want to come into the shipping sector of the economy. We have 1001 actors that would have turned around the maritime industry but because you are not giving them the capacity and the banks are not financing them, they cannot come in. Remember, to buy a single ship, you need about three or four consortiums of strong commercial banks to do so”.
Maritime Bits checks revealed that NIMASA in a press statement in December 2022 quoted the immediate past Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh saying that “the funds available for disbursement was slightly over ₦16 billion naira and $350 million United States of America (USA) dollars. What we have collected so far is in two folds made up of Naira and Dollar components. So far, the funds available under the CVFF in naira component is around Sixteen Billion naira (₦16,000,000,000:00) while contributions in Dollar component hovers around the Three Hundred and Fifty Million Dollar mark ($350,000,000:00).”
It is also on record that Jamoh’s predecessors have also quoted several figures at various times just as they promised to disburse the funds but eventually failed to do so until their tenures ended.
