.Wants FG to procure vessels on behalf of operators
By Uzor Odigbo
A stakeholder in the shipping subsector of the Nigerian Maritime industry, Otunba Sola Olatunji has expressed doubts over the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) disbursement, alleging that the fund must have been expended on irrelevant projects.
The fund which is under the custody of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), has suffered several postponements for over fourteen years.
Otunba Olatunji who is a member of the Nigerian Indigenous Ship Owners Association said in a chat over the weekend that the fund had become an enigma because it may no longer be available to empower indigenous operators.
If truly the CVFF exists in the acclaimed designated banks , the Managing Director Victory Energy Resources Limited, challenged the government to buy some vessels and hand them over to the respective associations of ship owners as a way to show it’s existence.
According to him, if the fund had been disbursed in consonance with the purpose for which it was intended, the situation of indigenous ship owners would not have been as precarious as it is in the country today.
“The CVFF was actually contributed by foreign ships coming to Nigeria and they have been contributing that fund for 13 to 14 years but we don’t know if that money is there.
“So you can see part of the problems we are talking about. If it was a capital reserved to empower ship owners, and maritime operators, and the law was put in place, why should you be begging anybody to implement the law?
“Law is law, they should implement it immediately. Fifteen years down the line, the people in NIMASA have decided to sabotage it in connivance with other agencies of government including NNPC.
“They prefer to promote foreign economy at the expense of their own economy.
“If the government had implemented the CVFF, by now, it would have been a complete departure from what we are seeing today.
“If the money is truly for local development of shipping, let them buy like two ships for each groups and tell them how to manage them at least to demonstrate their commitment.
Speaking further, he maintained that”If they know the money is still there, let them go and buy the vessels and bring them and we will now pay back the money, after all the money is meant for members of the associations.
He however noted that some beneficiaries in the past had disappointed the government in the past but suggested that such persons should not be allowed to benefit from the new disbursement thus should ensure close monitoring scheme in place for prompt refund by the associations.
When asked what will happen to ship owners who do not belong to any association, he quipped that ” If they are real operators, they can benefit by having a special arrangements with government to secure the fund.