FG appoints Zenith, UBA, 3 others as primary lenders for Cabotage Fund

The Federal Government has announced the appointment of Union, Zenith, Polaris, UBA and Jaiz Banks as the Primary Lending Institutions (PLIs) for the disbursement of the funds.

The appointment comes with the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari for the immediate disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) to qualified Nigerians to enable them to own vessels.

Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, the Minister of Transportation, told journalists at the weekend that the Ministry of Transportation has commenced liaising with the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, for the implementation.

On his part, Bashir Jamoh, the director general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) said the funds available for disbursement are slightly over ₦16 billion and $350 million.

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“What we have collected is in two folds made up of Naira and Dollar components. The funds available under the CVFF in naira component is about ₦‎16 billion while contributions in the Dollar component is about $350 million,” Jamoh said.

“President Buhari has approved my request for the disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund. Finally, we are going to break the 17-year-old jinx that has hindered the expansion of the maritime industry. We made a case that the funds belong to the ship owners and Mr. President has asked us to proceed with immediate effect,” he said.

Sambo said that CVFF will continue to go into the Treasury Single Account but whenever the money hits the threshold of $50 million, the CBN upon recommendation from the NIMASA and the Federal Ministry of Transportation would be expected to transfer the funds to the Primary Lending Institutions.

The CVFF was established alongside the Nigerian Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act of 2003, to empower indigenous ship owners to take control of the nation’s coastal and inland shipping business, otherwise known as the Cabotage trade.

Applicants of the fund are expected to make an equity contribution of 15 percent while NIMASA would make an equity contribution of 35 percent and 50 percent would be provided by the banks.