$200m CVFF disbursement: We can’t protest – Ship owners reply Ameachi
By Seun Ibiyemi
Ship-owners in Nigeria have said, they won’t protest the non-disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF), following the recent statement by the Minister of Transportation; Mr Rotimi Amaechi, that the disbursement is being withheld by the Minister of Finance.
The CVFF, which currently stands at over $200million and warehoused in the Treasury Single Accounts (TSA) has become an issue of controversy as past administrations of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) were not able to disburse it.
In March, the agency said it received the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari to disburse the fund to qualified indigenous maritime operators in line with the TSA policy and the CVFF Guidelines of 2006.
However, reacting to the statement, the President of Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (SOAN), Dr. Mkgeorge Onyung, in a chat with journalists, informed that the Minister cannot call them to protest, stating that ship owners are not ‘freedom fighters’ and as such, can’t be lobbied to protest the non-disbursement
According to him, “the CVFF is created by law, and I think you journalist should have asked the Minister what he meant by what he said, the Minister cannot call us to go and protest, are we EndSARS? That’s not what the law says, we are not freedom fighters.”
Also speaking, a member of the Nigeria Indigenous Ship Owners Association (NISA) Mr. Tunji Brown criticized the statement of the Minister, stating that if indeed the President has given approval for the disbursement, he sees no reason the Minister of Finance will refuse to disburse the fund.
He urged the Minister of Transportation and the Minister of Finance to come up with a position paper as to why the fund cannot be disbursed, rather than calling for protest from ship owners.
In his words, “I don’t think that statement is what I will like to align with, they work with the same government, if truly that is true, they are supposed to come up with a position paper as to why the money should not be disbursed, not for us to go and protest if truly the President has given ascent to it, the President is the final authority, if he gives approval, I don’t think anybody can stand in the way to give a counter position, I don align with that statement.”
Recall that the Minister had during a two-day ministerial retreat for agencies under the Ministry of Transportation, revealed that despite securing the approval of the President and the Attorney- General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, to disburse the CVFF, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, protested against the disbursement.
Amaechi, however, asked indigenous shipowners, who are owners of the fund, to write a protest letter to the President explaining why the fund is a private fund to enable him present the matter again before the President.
“The owners of money should write to the President and copy me then I will go back to the President. The law says the money is not public funds.
“The Minister of Finance does not have the right to advise that it is public funds. Now that the owners of the funds are aware, they should write to say ‘we are aware of the approval and we are also aware of the protest by the Minister of Finance. If I have the letter, I will go back to the President,” Ameachi said.
