After 15 Years Delay, Buhari Directs Disbursement of CVFF Fund

The Federal government of Nigeria has expressed its readiness to commence disbursement of the controversial Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund (CVFF) to Nigerian indigenous shipowners after delaying the payment for fifteen years.

Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi gave this assurance yesterday at the stakeholders appreciation night organised by the Nigerian Shippers Council in Lagos.

The CVFF which has now run into millions of Naira is domiciled under the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) while the fund is being warehoused at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)

Amaechi said the Ministry has finally gotten the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari to commence the disbursement of the fund by January 2020.

Recall that since 2004 when the CVFF scheme was created, no single indigenous ship-owner has benefitted.

Amaechi had pointedly told the shipowners that as long as he remained in charge as a minister, the funds would not be disbursed, citing several excuses.

But after receiving directives from President Buhari, Amaechi assured stakeholders last night that he would be meeting with all the heads of agencies under the transportation ministry next Tuesday to know their plans for the fund.

He added that there will also be another meeting with the agencies again in January.