17 years after it started collecting the monies, the Federal Government has chosen five commercial banks to distribute the N278.5 billion Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund or CVFF.
United Bank for Africa, Jaiz Bank, Zenith Bank, Polaris Bank, and Union Bank. They will act as the fund disbursement’s Primary Lending Institutions.
The Minister of Transportation, Mauzu Sambo, revealed this at the flag-off event for Batch B of the third phase of the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme, NSDP, over the weekend. She said President Mohammadu Buhari has ordered that the monies be disbursed right away.
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Remember that stakeholders demanded the payment be made to support the country’s shipping capability, therefore Nigerian shipowners have been deducted from all contracts in the Cabotage area since they began 17 years ago.
The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, has been given immediate instructions by the Minister to begin the procedure leading to the disbursement.
According to the analysis, $350 million in foreign money is included while the Naira component totals N16 billion.
“The approval was forwarded to my office late Friday,” Sambo said (December 9, 2022). However, I believed it was important to take advantage of this occasion while some of the main beneficiaries are present.
“The DG NIMASA will get an official communication from me on Monday transmitting Mr. President’s permission, and I anticipate him to take prompt action. I really do mean immediate when I say it.
No matter how long it takes, once he receives the communication, he will know what to do.
“We have promised the president that they will continue to permit the money to go into the Treasury Single Account, TSA; however, whenever the money reaches the threshold of $ 50 million, the CBN would be expected to transfer the money to the Primary Lending Institutions upon recommendation from NIMASA and the Federal Ministry of Transportation.”