Cabotage Fund: Only in Nigeria will you see ship-owners without a ship — Amaechi
By Seun Ibiyemi
The Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, has said that is only in Nigeria we have someone in Ship-Owners association without a ship, this is even as he announced that the approval earlier given by President Muhammadu Buhari for disbursement of Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) has been withdrawn.
Amaechi, who spoke at an exercise to flag off wreck removal in Lagos last week, said that it is only in Nigeria that shipowners exist without really owning any ships.
As at last check by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the CVFF has accrued a whopping $209million and N32billion.
According to Amaechi, the maritime sector is too toxic and suspicious, saying that some powerful stakeholders in the sector write various petitions against him to the president, and that some of them even stalk him in the dead of the night.
He said that the CVFF disbursement approval was withdrawn due to the distrust among the shipowners.
Speaking on the CVFF disbursement, Amaechi stated that President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier given approval for disbursements but it was abruptly withdrawn.
“I fought for two years plus and they gave us approval, when it was time to disburse, they started looking for trouble, one day I woke up and saw a directive from the President withdrawing that approval, should I fight again?
“When I discovered that there are rancor in the industry, I stayed afar. If you discovered that there is friction and fight in a department under your ministry, you leave that agency and move to an agency more serious.
“It is only in the Nigerian maritime sector that you have ship owners that don’t have ships. So, if I am dealing with ship owners that don’t have ships, what do I do? I move to the railway where they are serious and business-minded.
“When I came into government, my focus was on the maritime industry. The enthusiasm and passion were there. I even took you to Singapore to get foreign investors that would give us 40% while the other 60% would be ours. We got an investor and I instructed my people to go and arrange their 60%. Till today, they are still arranging.
Amaechi, who criticised the shipping operators for lack of unity, said many of them who claim to be shipowers do not own ships.
He also blamed the indigenous ship operators for the withdrawal of the Singaporean firm, Pacific International Limited (PIL) from the Joint Venture it entered with the Nigerian government to establish a national shipping line after they failed to present their own 60 per cent equity in the national carrier.
“How many of you in the maritime sector are united? So, when you meet men who are fighting among themselves, you move on to something more serious. It is only in the Nigerian maritime sector that you have shipowners that don’t own ships. So, if I am dealing with shipowners that don’t own ships, what will I do? I will go to the railway,” he pointed out.
“When I came into government, the first place I focused my attention on was on maritime. We went to Singapore to get a foreign investor who will bring 40 per cent for the acquisition of a national shipping line and Nigeria to bring 60 per cent. The foreign investor brought their 40 per cent, till today, Nigeria is still arranging its 60 per cent. They couldn’t even raise the 60 per cent,”he added.
“Basically, our maritime sector has a lot of problems. First, there are people who make money from illegalities in the industry. Those people would never allow you to succeed. I am the first Minister that has fought their battle without being removed. It is a sector that if you put your head in it, they would chop it off,” he said.
