The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Dayo Mobereola, has restated that the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund, which is held in the agency’s account at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), remains intact.
The statement is to dispel rumours of the alleged sudden disappearance of the money.
Mobereola revealed that the report of the money missing was both misleading and false.
The total fund which is put at about $360m in the CVFF account with the CBN represents 50 per cent, while the remaining counterpart funds of 50 per cent is from stakeholders and banks, which is 15 per cent and 35 per cent respectively.
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The Head of Public Relations Department of the agency, Osagie Edward, in a statement issued yesterday said there has been no disappearance of funds, and that there had been no illegal transactions, as the article suggested.
Osagie, in the statement, said the misinformation is a figment of the authors’ imagination, aimed at undermining NIMASA’s integrity and misleading the public about the agency’s operations.
He stated that the management of NIMASA will ensure that the CVFF is utilised in line with its statutory purpose, noting that the agency’s director general has assured stakeholders of the safety of funds under the CVFF.
According to him, the funds that accrued under the CVFF are intact and currently held with the Central Bank of Nigeria under the Single Treasury Account (TSA), adding that it is contrary to a misleading publication alleging that funds have disappeared from the CVFF account.
“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,” he stated.
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 maritime operators.
NIMASA is committed to transparency, accountability and the advancement of Nigeria’s maritime sector.
It could be recalled that former President Muhammadu Buhari, in November 2022, approved the immediate disbursement of the CVFF, to qualified Nigerians as part of the federal government’s commitment to grow indigenous capacity of Nigerians to own vessels.
Towards this end, five primary lending institutions were appointed to facilitate the disbursement 17 years after it commenced collection.
The banks are Union Bank, Zenith Bank, Polaris Bank, United Bank for Africa, UBA and Jaiz Bank.
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