- President, Shipowners’ Association of Nigeria, Sonny Eja
By Anthony Nwachukwu
Indigenous shipowners have commended the recent directive by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, for the commencement of the process to disburse the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF).
Oyetola had directed the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety (NIMASA) to begin the process towards the initiative.
Speaking on the directive, President of the Shipowners’ Association of Nigeria (SOAN), Sonny Eja, commended the decision, noting that though long overdue, the best time to start remains now.
Expressing excitement at the partnership with the Bank of Industry (BOI), he described the disburse of the fund as a good development.
According to him, “the single obligor of $25 million is okay, it’s a welcome deployment as well as it would allow wherever the borrowers are going to be to adequately use this fund judiciously.”
Nevertheless, Eja, who is also the managing director of Petromarine Nigeria Ltd, urged the government to put measures in place to ensure that beneficiaries put the fund to good use.
He further expressed belief that “they have set the right criteria for accessing these funds,” and “have put in place very good measures to recover these funds so that people don’t just access these funds, divert them for other purposes and then they are not able to pay back.”
While commending the federal government, SOAN urged whoever benefits from the fund to put it into good use so that it does not give the industry a bad name that either ship owners or other stakeholders simply access and turn them into non-performing loans.
“I believe also that the equity contribution they have put in place is okay, so that there’s a commitment on the part of the borrower,” Eja stated.
Similarly, President of the Nigerian Shipowners Association (NISA), Sola Adewunmi, said it was the first time a minister would direct NIMASA to commence the process for CVFF disbursement.
Calling for a rollout of the guidelines to enable would-be beneficiaries know how to access the fund, Adewunmi hoped that “things will change,” stating: “When the guideline comes out, we know it is something that will be realistic.”
Also, while hoping that the minister’s directive would further spur the growth of the sector, the Managing Director of Starzs Marine and Engineering Ltd, Greg Ogbeifun, urged the government to follow due process, according to the enabling Act.
The former President of SOAN said the minister acted accordingly by taking the bull by its horns on the disbursement of the fund, which will finally unlock the long-standing issue of the CVFF disbursement. According to him, “the minister’s move is extremely commendable.
“The important thing is that due process, according to the requirements of the Act, has to be followed. I’ve looked at the marine notice sent out and I think it’s majorly in line with the requirements of the Act.
“When you look at the previous guidelines, there is good reason to at least believe that the minister is acting accordingly, but I don’t know if the requirements of the Act, as it relates to the legislating part of government, are followed.”
