By Steve Agbota, Lagos
Indigenous shipowners have lamented the abandonment of the shipping sector by the Nigerian government before and during and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking at a press briefing in Lagos to announce the return of the association as one formidable body and intention to engage the government on its shipping policies, the Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT) of Nigerian Shipowners Association (NISA), Chief Isaac Jolapamo, said the sector being capital intensive hasn’t enjoyed any government’s intervention nor incentives.
NISA also disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari has not withdrawn approval for the disbursement of the Cabotage Vessels Finance Fund (CVFF), as widely speculated. CVFF was set up 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 cabotage trade.
Recall that the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, had recently accused indigenous shipowners of going behind to gang up against him after he fought for two years to secure approval for the disbursement of the fund. This, he said, led to the withdrawal of the approval for disbursement by the president.
However, Jolapamo said every other sector of the economy have enjoyed government incentives in the past and even after the COVID-19 pandemic but none has come to the shipping sector.
‘No intervention or assistance for players in the industry from government. Only in Nigeria do we see that maritime is not important, that is a sector that can fund Nigeria budget deficit yearly if properly harnessed,’ he said.
‘Funds were made available to other sectors of the economy especially during and after the COVID-19 pandemic but, none was made available to us. So many offshore vessels belonging to foreigners are working unabated with few Nigerians working onboard the vessels also, those working are low-level officers so, Nigeria is losing out in capacity building as well,’ he said.
Also speaking on the disbursement of CVFF, a member of NISA’s steering Committee, Capt Taiwo Akinpelumi, said shipowners will seek the National Assembly’s interpretation of the Act establishing the fund to know whether it belongs to shipowners or government.
He also affirmed that preliminary investigation by the group had shown that President Muhammadu Buhari is yet to withdraw his approval for CVFF disbursement.
Capt Akimpelumi, who said the association has risen from the crisis that rocked it for so many years said they are ready to fight and take possession of what belongs to them in the sector.
‘We have consulted widely and we realised that nothing like suspension of the fund but, we know there is an internal politics of moving the fund from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to the Primary Lending Institute,’ he said.
‘We will take every step to make sure the fund is disbursed, we contributed into the fund, I can assure that no withdrawal of approval but, on whether it is a government fund or shipowners’ fund, we will seek NASS interpretation but, going to court will be the last resort.’
A former Secretary General of NISA, Tunji Brown, who said shipowners supported the enactment of the Cabotage Act thinking they would be better-off said poor implementation has made the indigenous shipowners worse than ever before.
‘Many of us has been in the shipping sector before cabotage, we fought for the implementation of cabotage with the hope we will be better off but, that has not been possible,’ he said.
Brown disclosed that the factions in the group have all agreed to forge a common front to develop the Nigerian shipping sector and maximise the potentials inherent in it.