This story was written way back in 2017, almost a decade after, the government is still playing games with a scheme to be funded by contribution by shipowners. Yet, almost two decades after, the owners of the funds are going cap-in-hand bootlicking the authorities to be beneficiaries.
The painful thing is that the circle continues every election season and the owners of the funds, every time struggle to be beneficiaries without knowing how much is racked in annually or what is the total funds collected so far.
After every election circle, there are rumours that the funds have been depleted by politicians. Yet assurances are given by the next set of politicians in active collaboration with officials of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA.
But assurances are not enough, especially with a government that cannot be trusted. The forward is a comprehensive audit of the funds since it's inception, where the funds have been and also if it has ever been invested and how much interest from such investment.
Until that is done, the periodic promises will continue without achieving the original purpose of the initiators.
Harboursandport.com: Lagos, Nigeria - October 9, 2026: When interventionist measures to rebuild Nigeria’s indigenous shipping industry were announced back in 2003, many hoped it would bring the much needed impetus or stimuli for the nation’s economic growth as with the Asian tigers; 10 years on, discordant tunes ring still, reports David Sagua.
The Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund, CVFF, was established following the enactment of the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act 2003 revised in 2007, as a medium to facilitate ownership and operation of cabotage vessels and profitable firms by Nigerians within its territorial waters.
It was seen as a complimentary tool towards achieving the lofty aims envisaged in the Cabotage Act which sought to boost domestic shipping, ship-building capacity and inter-linked industries through engaging more “indigenous” participants in the maritime industry.
18 months after the first set of firms were shortlisted to access the funds by both NIMASA and the assessor banks, the proverbial “justice delayed is justice denied” now rings true.
In sharp contrast however, the Asian tigers (Hong-Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan) which had a similar history and developmental status as Nigeria, engaged the proactive role of the state in economic development.
Jamil Nasri, in his economic research found that, “The governments of these countries made liberal use of industrial policies. They invested in ports, transportation, and telecommunication. For example, Singapore focused on an adequate supply of electricity and on developing an effective telecommunications system that proved instrumental in making it a financial hub.
“The governments of these countries created markets rather than replacing them. Priority industries were given preferential access to capital, credit and foreign exchange. The governments also provided subsidies, such as provision of credit at lower interest rate, to the favoured industries,” much like was intended with the CVFF.
Section VIII of the Cabotage Act established the CVFF to “promote the development of indigenous ship acquisition capacity by providing financial assistance to Nigerian operators in the domestic coastal shipping. The beneficiaries of the fund shall be Nigerian citizens and shipping companies wholly owned by Nigerians.”
This, according to the Transport Ministry, was done primarily to “reserve the commercial transportation of goods and services within Nigeria’s inland and coastal waters to vessels flying the Nigerian flag, owned and crewed by Nigerian citizens and built in Nigeria.”
Given the paucity of standardised vessel regulation and maintenance facilities, coupled with multiplicity of ghost-owned vessels, this was indeed a tall order which was viewed by stakeholders as another conduit for personal enrichment by government officials.
Much like the abandoned Ship Acquisition and Ship Building Fund, SASBF, before it, introduced shortly after the birth of erstwhile Nigerian Maritime Authority (NMA now NIMASA), CVFF is presently funded through two means: a two per cent surcharge of the contract sum performed by any vessel engaged in coastal trading; and monies generated under the act including tariff, fines, and fees for licenses and waivers.
10 years down the line and with at least N33.4billion realised according to the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, no firm or individual has yet accessed the pool of funds set aside for ship acquisition by indigenous firms.
Several reasons have being put forward for the delay namely: bureaucratic issues in selecting banks to disburse the funds; flaws inherent in document’s application; the capacity of the applicant firms to repay the loans; and a more general fear, that the CVFF enterprise has been secretly siphoned by successive governments.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, recently declared investigations into the messy affair open, noting that the Nigerian maritime sector had over the years suffered from a cancer of ineptitude occasioned by poor regulatory framework.
Tambuwal said in spite of the enactment of the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act in 2003, Nigeria’s Inland Water Ways had remained grossly inactive.
"The desired salutary effect has not been seen in the volume of cabotage business going on in Nigeria. The fear is that some unpatriotic people are misapplying the Cabotage Vessel Financing Funds to the detriment of its objectives," he said.
Beyond the identified limitations of the CVFF document as identified by past Director-General of NIMASA, Temisan Omatseye, is the issue of government will to act as promised.
A contributor to an online forum voiced his opinion and suggestions on how to best appropriate the fund.
Using the handle aliemmanuel_a he said, “It is known that CVFF is the 2% deductions from every payment to a contractor for the supply or operation of marine vessels in the oil and gas industry plus contribution by investors. It is quite unfortunate that it is only in Nigeria that issues are made out of nothing.
“CVFF is a pact between vessel owners and participating investors. The government needs to play their role as umpire and not as impostors. CVFF disbursement is very simple, who and who have been contributing to the fund and what is their contribution? Prorate and disburse based on the contributions made.
“The contributors are the real players in the industry and definitely will payback as expected. Real industry players should not relent in monitoring CVFF and let the world know every move contrary to the laid down rules,” he concluded.
Essentially what Nigeria needs is more of action and less talk; greater transparency cum accountability and less secrecy. Maybe, just maybe, we may look back and be numbered among nations which have leaped forward wholly.
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