The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) on Tuesday, said funds accrued under the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) are intact and currently held with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under the Single Treasury Account (TSA).
The agency reacted to a recent media publication which alleged that funds have disappeared from the CVFF account.
The CVFF is a fund established under section 42 of the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act 2003 to promote the development of indigenous ship acquisition capacity and to provide credit facilities to local shipowners.
NIMASA in a statement by its head of corporate communications, Mr Osagie Edward maintained that the report of a depleted CVFF account was not true.
The agency has continually declined to give accurate information on the exact amount currently in the CVFF account but, the account was reported to hold $360 million as at June 2023. Indigenous shipowners contribute to the CVFF account.
“For the record, the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund, securely held in the NIMASA account at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), remains intact. There has been no disappearance of funds, and no illegal transactions, as the article suggests. This misinformation is a figment of the authors imagination, aimed at undermining NIMASA’s integrity, and mislead the public about the agency’s operations,” Osagie stated.
He insisted that the NIMASA would ensure that the CVFF was utilised in line with its statutory purpose, adding that the agency’s Director General, Dr Mobereola had assured stakeholders of the safety of funds under the CVFF.
“Let us be clear that the CVFF account at the Central Bank of Nigeria is safe, intact, and secure. We at NIMASA will continue to manage it with the utmost responsibility, and there are no irregularities or illegal activities surrounding the funds. I urge the public to disregard this false narrative and to continue trusting the agency’s ability to uphold the integrity of Nigeria’s maritime sector,” Mobereola was quoted in the statement.
In June 2023, NIMASA received approval for the disbursement of the $360 million CVFF to qualified Nigerian shipowners, but the agency failed to disbursed the fund which has accummulated for about 20 years.
The approval was granted by the House Committee chaired by Mr. Legor Idagbo after an investigation into the matter. The committee found that due process was followed in the planned disbursement of the CVFF, but the disbursement was never done.
