From right: Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh OFR presents a plaque to the Managing Director, NNPC Shipping, Mr. Panos Gliatis during a joint courtesy visit with the Nigerian Chamber of Shipping to the agency, Tuesday.

Strong indications emerged that the 7.5per cent interest rate regime demanded by the six Primary Lending Institutions PLIs appointed for the disbursement of the N261billion Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund CVFF, was responsible for non-disbursement of the fund before the end of the lifespan of President Muhammadu Buhari’s government.

Recall that former Minister of Transport, Mu’azu Sambo had in December, 2022 announced that after the initial challenges posed by the introduction of Single Treasury Account, President Buhari had approved the disbursement of the fund. This approval made the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency NIMASA, the custodian of the fund, to appoint five new PLIs comprising Union Bank, Zenith Bank, United Bank for Africa UBA, Polaris Bank and Jaiz Bank.

Speaking when a delegation from the NNPC Shipping and Logistics and the Nigerian Chamber of Shipping NCS visited the Apapa, Lagos headquarters of the agency, Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh OFR, disclosed that the inability of the agency and the PLIs to agree on the interest rate for the counterpart funding to be provided by them stalled the disbursement of the fund.

The delegation was led by the Managing Director of the NNPC Shipping, Mr. Panos Gliatis and the President of the NCS, Aminu Umar, both of who had been holding discussions on the disbursement of the fund as part of measures to enable the country begin to harness her vast blue economy potential for the benefit of the citizens.

According to him, while the PLIs demanded for 7.5per cent interest rate, the agency insisted on 6.5per cent, adding that both parties could not reach a consensus on the matter before the end of the lifespan of that government.

Under the Cabotage guidelines for the counterpart funding arrangement for the disbursement of the fund, NIMASA would provide the 50per cent of the cost of any vessel to be acquired under the fund, the PLI will provide 35per cent while the indigenous shipping company is expected to provide the remaining 15per cent.

The DG further noted that the coming on stream of the new government of President Bola Tinubu led to the creation of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.

“I welcome you all to NIMASA,the need for partnerships in the industry could not have come at a better time than now, when the Federal Government is doing everything possible for the country to harness her rich blue economy potential. Before now, we had meetings with the former Managing Director of the NNPC Shipping.

The Federal Government just created the new Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy to concentrate and explore more the resources of the Blue Economy, which is also the focus now worldwide and now that we have a new Minister, we will brief him and carry him along. There is a decline in the vessel traffic into Nigeria. It is not because of the downward trend in trade alone but because of the lack of enabling environment.

“That’s why the Federal Government created the new ministry, the current situation of mono economy is no longer tenable. The international community is also working towards diversifying the economies and so the Federal Government is working towards moving from the mono to a more diversified economy by harnessing the resources of the blue economy.

“In one of the meetings with the former MD of the NNPC Shipping, he promised to take up nine per cent out of the 15per cent counterpart funding by the indigenous shipping companies. While we insisted on 6.5per cent interest rate, the PLIs demanded for 7.5per cent and so we couldn’t agree.

“We need to collaborate because it is one thing to have a ship, it is another thing to have the cargo. The essence of the CVFF is to create jobs, enhance cargo security for the indigenous shipping companies. We need a new action-plan in order to create the mileage within the next six months. The CVFF is the only low hanging fruit to help in harnessing the resources of the Blue Economy”, the DG said.

Meanwhile, the MD of the NNPC Shipping assured that the company was ready to collaborate with the agency and the indigenous ship owners with a view to actualising the dreams behind the creation of the new ministry, part of which is to refocus the industry for optimal benefits to the country.

The President of the Nigeria Chamber of Shipping, while speaking earlier thanked the NIMASA DG for the efforts of the agency to improve the lots of the indigenous shipping operators.

He further disclosed that the aim of the courtesy visit was to officially introduce the new MD of the NNPC Shipping, brief the agency of ongoing collaborative efforts between the company and the various indigenous shipping firms under the auspices of the NCS and to seek the guide and blessing of the agency, especially towards the disbursement of the CVFF.