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Breaking! Indigenous ship owners to access $700m CVFF in August, 2025– Mobereola

–as NIMASA appoints 12 PLIs to administer the fund
Funso OLOJO
Hope of the indigenous ship owners to access the much elusive Cabotage Vessel Financing Funds(CVFF) after  over  two decade delay, brightens as the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency(NIMASA) , Dr Dayo Mobereola, has disclosed that the disbursement of the controversial fund with commence in August, 2025.
Mobereola, who was speaking  on Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025 during the over sight visit by the House of Representatives Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration, said the process for the disbursement of the $700m intervention funds has reached an advanced stage with the appointment of 12 Primary Lending Institutions(PLIs) to administer the funds.
Five PLIs were initially appointed by the immediate past administration of the agency led by Dr Bashir Jamoh.
The accelerated process for the disbursement of the funds followed the marching order given by the Minister of Marine and Blue economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, to NIMASA to immediately proceed with the disbursement process.
 “What we have done is to streamline the guidelines according to what has been approved by the Honorable Minister of Marine and Blue Economy in order to ensure that it takes nothing less than three to four months for ship-owners to access the funds.
“What is most important about it is that we are also making use of the banks.
” So it will not be totally a NIMASA project. The banks are going to carry out the initial risk assessment, to be sure that whoever wants to access this fund has the capacity in terms of his own financial capacity.
“The bank is going to lend 35 percent while NIMASA is going to lend the other 50 percent while the remaining 15 percent equity shares will be provided by the beneficiary of the fund.
“So that risk is being taken on by the bank to ensure that whoever is coming to us is a bonafide shipping company, who has capacity to trade and who has the capacity to also repay back because it’s a revolving fund.
“The strength that we do not have, we have handed it over to the bank to help us to manage that side of it.
“Once we start it, before the end of this year, by God’s grace, it will be revolving and it will be just continuous over the years.
“We have expanded the PLIs to 12 banks. We re-advertised and the former ones also applied.
“So we have 12 banks now. And the fact remains that we are still insisting that we want single digits interest rates because we want our shipping companies, our vessels ,to be able to compete with international shipping companies.
“And we need patient capital, meaning that when a loan is given, the loan is given for about 15 years, 20 years, so that a shipowner doesn’t have to be under pressure to pay back immediately. That is one side of it.
“The other part of it is that we are also working to ensure that there is cargo for them to carry.
We are working with the cargo generators, the NNPCs, the NLNGs, the exporters, to make sure they patronise Nigerian vessels that will be available at that time.
” So it’s a win-win and the ship owners are on board with us.”
Speaking earlier, the acting Chairman of the House Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration, Honorable Uduak Odudoh, assured the NIMASA DG of the support of the committee.
 “I can say of the truth that what we’ve seen so far today, starting from the presentations that were made by the DG, that we are impressed.
“We are impressed primarily when the DG was doing his presentation.
“We saw that in the last three years that we’ve not had one single piracy and other maritime crimes.
“And what does that entail? That means people that are doing business in the water now has the opportunity to do their businesses freely.
“And NIMASA will now also have more opportunity to generate more funds to the nation.
“Let me also tell the DG, he’s about one year now on the saddle and a lot of innovations that he has brought into work, we are impressed.
“And what is left for him is for him to improve upon the achievements of his predecessor and even surpass them.
“When he was doing his presentation, he also mentioned some challenges which we had taken so seriously.
“When we get to the National Assembly, we will continue to work, collaborate with NIMASA, collaborate with the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, for the success of this present government, the success of Nigeria.” the law maker declared.
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Analyses

The invisible toll gates:Why National Single Window is Nigeria’s ultimate economic battleground

Monday Discourse with  Ibrahim Nasiru
Walk into any market in Nigeria today, from the commercial hubs of Lagos to the roadside stalls in Yola, and ask why a bag of rice or an imported spare part costs three times what it did last year.
The typical public commentator will blame global inflation, floating currencies, or macro-economic shocks.
But those who understand logistics know the real truth lies buried under layers of paper, manual stamps, and artificial delays at our seaports.
Nigeria’s international trade is suffocating not from a lack of deep water, but from a deliberate design of convenience.
The recent operational rollout of the National Single Window (NSW) has triggered behind-the-scenes panic among Port cartels, and for good reason.
For decades, keeping our clearing processes fragmented, manual, and dependent on desk-to-desk human interaction was the perfect business model for syndicates.
When cargo dwell times drag on for 21 days, those delays are money in the pockets of the gatekeepers and a death sentence for local businesses.
Let us look at the raw field realities. The push by the Nigeria Customs Service to aggressively crash clearance times down to global 48-hour standards is meeting fierce internal resistance.
Why? Because a unified digital ecosystem means you cannot easily manipulate documentation, hide illicit cargo, or demand “mobilization fees” before signing off a container.
The outcry and protests from certain freight-forwarding syndicates aren’t about technical glitches; they are about the sudden closure of invisible toll gates.
This is exactly why governance at our national gateways can no longer be left to the mercy of transactional bureaucratic habits.
Building deep-sea infrastructure like Lekki Port is a massive physical achievement, but concrete and cranes are useless if the administrative processes at the gate remain backward.
 Real structural reform requires turning our Ports into automated, friction-free pipelines that prioritize production over rent-seeking.
If Nigeria wants to survive this fiscal squeeze, the National Single Window cannot just be treated as another glossy IT project launched in Abuja.
 It requires unyielding administrative enforcement to completely dismantle the corrupt cartels managing the manual desk chains.
The invisible toll gates at our Ports must be completely demolished, and that exact same structural discipline must be scaled across our border stations and trade corridors.
The era of managing international trade with 20th-century paper trails is dying. The future belongs to the builders of automated, transparent systems.
Chief Ibrahim Nasiru, a public affairs analyst,  writes from Abuja 
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Headlines

NANTA Exco embarks on seven-day Ghana retreat, fam trip to deepen regional tourism partnership

Gloria Odion, Reporter

The National Executive Council (NEC) of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) has commenced a seven-day executive retreat and familiarisation (fam) trip to Ghana, hosted by Safari World, as part of efforts to strengthen regional tourism partnerships and expand cross-border travel opportunities.

The NANTA delegation was received at Safari World Homes in Accra by the Chairman of the Safari World Group, Mr. Ernest Gyekye, who expressed delight at hosting the Nigerian travel trade leaders.

He assured the delegation of a memorable experience throughout their week-long stay.

Speaking on the significance of the visit, NANTA President, Mr. Yinka Folami, described the retreat and familiarisation tour as a strategic initiative aimed at fostering stronger business relationships and promoting collaborative tourism development across Africa.

“This mission is not a leisure trip,” Folami said. “It is a deliberate step to implement and expand our association’s marketing advocacy for Nigerian brands across borders.”

He noted that Nigeria and Ghana share deep historical, cultural and commercial ties that should be leveraged to drive tourism growth on the continent.

“Nigeria and Ghana share history, culture, trade and people. The future of our tourism cannot be built in silos,” he said.

“This retreat is about moving from policy to practice—creating real products, real partnerships and real movement of travellers between Accra and Lagos.”

As part of the programme, the NANTA executives will engage in strategic business-to-business (B2B) meetings with their Ghanaian counterparts, tour key tourism destinations under the Safari World brand, and participate in cultural exchange activities designed to promote stronger bilateral tourism cooperation.

The itinerary spans Safari World’s three flagship destinations, including Safari Homes in Accra, the Aqua Safari riverfront experience, Safari Island Cruise, Safari Nautica, and Safari Recreation and Sports facilities in Ada, as well as the Safari Valley Eco Resort and Safari Eco Park in Dawu.

Operating under the brand promise, “One World, Three Destinations, Over 20 Unique Experiences,” Safari World is leveraging the visit to strengthen its footprint in the Nigerian travel market while positioning Ghana as a premier destination for leisure tourism, conferences, group travel, family holidays and premium tourism experiences.

A major highlight of the visit will be the Executive Dinner scheduled for July 21 at the Safari Valley Eco Resort, where key stakeholders from Nigeria and Ghana’s tourism industries will deliberate on strategies for deepening travel trade and advancing regional tourism development.

The familiarisation tour is expected to provide NANTA’s leadership with first-hand knowledge of Safari World’s tourism offerings, paving the way for the development of attractive travel packages and stronger business partnerships that will benefit Nigerian travellers and the wider West African tourism industry.

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Customs

Ogun Customs spurns claims of Smugglers’ takeover of Idiroko–Sango Ota trading Route

Funso OLOJO, Editor

The Ogun I Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has dismissed as false reports alleging that smugglers had taken over the Idiroko–Sango Ota trading route in Ogun State, describing the claims as a deliberate misrepresentation of a traffic incident.
In a statement issued by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Superintendent of Customs (SC) Chado, the Command clarified that the traffic gridlock on the route resulted from the breakdown of an articulated commercial trailer after it fell into a badly deteriorated section of Atan Road, temporarily obstructing the free flow of traffic.
According to the Command, the vehicles caught in the ensuing congestion were legitimate commercial trucks transporting red palm oil to various local markets and had no connection whatsoever with smuggling activities.
It explained that the large number of heavy-duty trucks trapped in the gridlock may have led some members of the public to wrongly conclude that smugglers had taken over the road.
“The reports that smugglers blocked the road are inaccurate. The disruption resulted from a road accident and poor road conditions. The vehicles involved were lawful commercial vehicles transporting red palm oil for legitimate trade,” Chado stated.
The Command urged journalists, social media users and the general public to verify information before disseminating reports capable of creating unnecessary panic or undermining public confidence in security agencies.
Observers within the border trade sector noted that the allegation does not reflect the prevailing security situation within the Ogun I Area Command, where anti-smuggling operations have been intensified under the leadership of the Acting Customs Area Controller, Comptroller O.O. Afeni.
Since assuming office, Comptroller Afeni has strengthened intelligence-driven surveillance, enhanced collaboration with other security agencies and host communities, and sustained pressure on economic saboteurs operating along the Ogun border corridors.
These measures, according to stakeholders, have resulted in significant seizures of prohibited goods and reinforced the Command’s resolve to safeguard Nigeria’s economy and territorial integrity.
Maritime and border trade stakeholders also cautioned against the spread of unverified information capable of undermining the efforts of security personnel or creating a false impression of lawlessness in border communities.
They stressed that while combating smuggling remains an ongoing responsibility, responsible and accurate reporting is equally critical to ensuring that operational achievements are not overshadowed by misinformation.
The Ogun I Area Command reaffirmed its commitment to sustaining its anti-smuggling campaign while facilitating legitimate cross-border trade in line with the statutory mandate of the Nigeria Customs Service.

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