“We have received the approval of the President to disburse the funds. It is now left for the key players to actualise the approval by the President,” he said.
Transport Minister, Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, has called for a
concerted effort by key stakeholders to make the quick disbursement of the
Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) a reality.
Engr Sambo made the call in Abuja at a meeting with
representative Heads of the Primary Lending Institutions, the MD CEO of Polaris
Bank, UBA, Union Bank, Zenith Bank, Jaiz Bank, the DG NIMASA, the MD Shipping
NNPC and other stakeholders.
He reiterated that President Buhari had approved the
immediate disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) through
five primary lending institutions, namely Polaris, Zenith, Union, Jaiz and UBA
banks.
According to him, “The President also approved that the 2%
charge that makes up the Cabotage Fund should continue to accrue to the CBN
Treasury Single Account(TSA) and each time the account hits $50m, the Minister
of Transportation should, on the recommendation of NIMASA, direct the CBN to
release the amount to any of the five banks for disbursement”.
The Minister noted that it has taken seventeen years to get
presidential approval for the disbursement and charged the key stakeholders to
expedite action on the necessary details to facilitate the quick disbursement
of the funds.
“We have received the approval of the President to disburse
the funds. It is now left for the key players to actualise the approval by the
President”, he said.
According to media aide, Henshaw Ogubike, Sambo said the
maritime sector would be a major income earner for the country if properly
managed, adding that it was fulfilling for him to lead the historic process of
disbursing the Cabotage Funds.
Section 44 part VIII of the Cabotage Act 2003 provides for
the establishment of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) and a 2%
deduction on cabotage-protected trade earnings goes into the savings for the
development of indigenous tonnage (ships) in Nigeria.
The Bankers and other critical stakeholders had hours of
closed-door deliberation after the minister’s remark, to chart out a clear
course for the final disbursements in the coming days