From left: Minister of Transport, Engr. Mu’ azu Sambo receives a souvenir from the DG, NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh during his maiden visit to the agency’s Burma Road headquarters, Apapa, Lagos recently.

Minister of Transport, Engr. Mu’azu Jaji Sambo has for the third time in one month restated his commitment to disburse the $350million Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund CVFF, saying he is willing to break any jinx inhibiting the disbursement of the 19-year old revolving loan fund, designed to help indigenous ship owners acquire vessels.

According to a statement by the Assistant Director, Public Relations, Osagie Edward, the Minister reiterated the commitment of the Ministry to work with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency NIMASA, which warehouses the fund currently estimated at over $350million in ensuring it is disbursed to deserving beneficiaries, which will further boost shipping activities in the country.

Meanwhile, Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh has assured that the agency would remain committed to actualising its mandate as stipulated in the four enabling Acts that established the agency with a view to engendering a robust and efficient maritime industry in the country.

The Minister made the remarks when he paid a working visit to the headquarters of the agency in Lagos in company of the Minister of State, Prince Ademola Adegoroye and the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Magdalene Ajani.

The Minister said: “If there is a jinx about the CVFF, I am going to break it by getting it disbursed to deserving Nigerians. If these funds are disbursed, the President Muhammadu Buhari administration and the Federal Ministry of Transport will take the credit, while it remains a legacy in this administration.”

He commended the management of NIMASA over its capacity development initiatives in the maritime industry. He also lauded the agency for remaining focused in the delivery of its mandate, sayng that the agency has upgraded it image from what it used to be a decade ago.

“NIMASA of today has come a long way from the NIMASA I knew 10 years ago. I commend the entire management and staffers of the agency for raising the bar, it is now a symbol of team work. I am impressed with the customer experience centre and your efforts to attract young Nigerians into the maritime industry via your various capacity development projects including the essay competition for secondary school students”, he also said. 

Sambo called for more synergy between NIMASA and other parastatals under the supervision of the Ministry, in addition to the Nigerian Navy and members of the Nigerian Armed Forces towards ensuring the success of the Deep Blue Project is a success.

The DG, while speaking during the visit, briefed the Minister on some of the activities of the agency in deveoloping a robust maritime industry, which include; obtaining approval for physical and monetary incentives for ship owners to purchase brand new vessels at zero duty, while also assisting them get foreign exchange at the Central Bank of Nigeria rate respectively. The move according to the DG is to help phase out old and rickety vessels from the nation’s waterways and encourage more participation in the Nigerian shipping industry.

Jamoh also informed the Minister that under the Deep Blue Project, 600 Special Forces from the Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Army, Nigerian Air Force, Department of State Security, among others are undergoing training for special skills to ensure effective implementation of the Project. The intent is to ensure that the nation’s waterways remain safe from all forms of criminalities.

He further disclosed to the Minister that over 2,000 Nigerians have undergone trainings under the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme NSDP scheme, out of which about 800 are actively engaged on various ships, with a huge number of them working on board  the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas NLNG vessels.  He added that NIMASA is developing a National Ship Building and Infrastructure Development Strategy, aimed at bridging the gap in capacity building for trained Nigerian seafarers.

Other achievements listed include but are not limited to; enhanced maritime safety administration through effective Ports and Flag state inspection on foreign and Nigerian flagged vessels, Enforcement of safety regulations on barges and tug boats through Operation Sting Ray, Reactivation of online seafarers Certificate of Competency verification platform, and commenced activities towards ensuring GHG emission reduction in the maritime sector with an emphasis on achieving 0.5per cent Sulphur Oxide (SO2) in Bunker fuel oil.

The Minister also undertook a tour of the NIMASA Maritime Stakeholders experience Contact Center MSECC. The 24 hour Center serves as a platform for both internal and external stakeholders to resolve any issue within the stipulated 24 hours.