CVFF Controversy: War of Words Won’t Buy Nigeria Ships

 

By Ibrahim Nasiru

The ongoing conversation regarding the disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) to indigenous shipping owners has taken a dramatic and highly confusing turn. For over twenty years, local shipowners have looked forward to this fund as the critical lifeline that would finally allow Nigerians to own high-capacity vessels, dominate our own coastal waters, and stop foreign ships from taking over our maritime economy.

But while the bureaucracy delayed, the narrative became deeply fractured.

The maritime industry was recently rocked by a shocking revelation from former NIMASA Director-General Temisan Omatseye at the 2026 Shipping Correspondents Association of Nigeria (SCAN) Summit.

Omatseye exposed what he described as a legacy structural error, claiming that dollar receipts collected from local operators were historically swept and converted into Naira by the Accountant-General’s office to chase higher domestic interest rates.

In a swift and aggressive counter-response dated November 1, 2026, the current Director-General of NIMASA, Dr. Dayo Mobereola, flatly dismissed the claims. Mobereola insisted that there has been absolutely no conversion of the dollar-denominated component of the fund, asserting that all USD contributions remain fully intact within the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

This public clash between a former helmsman and the current leadership creates a massive transparency crisis.

In the global maritime industry, shipping assets are priced strictly in US Dollars. If Omatseye’s account of past historical conversion is true, then a massive portion of the fund’s purchasing power has vapourized due to the recent steep devaluation of the Naira. If Mobereola’s denial is correct, then the full $700 million value remains intact.

To settle this confusion once and for all, the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy must move beyond mere press statements.

The government must immediately open its financial records and publish the certified CBN account balances of the CVFF. Stakeholders deserve an independent audit, not a war of words.

Meanwhile, the long-awaited application portal launched by the Ministry continues to run straight into a banking brick wall. Out of nearly a hundred applications, disbursements remain stalled because Primary Lending Institutions (PLIs) are demanding rigid credit terms, strict 15% cash equity, and long-term cargo guarantees.

As leaders within the Nigerian Indigenous Ship-owners Association (NISA) and the Shipowners Association of Nigeria (SOAN) have long lamented, many local shipowners are already heavily indebted, with their existing assets trapped by AMCON.

Demanding heavy cash equity and unachievable bank conditions to access their own contributed funds is simply setting local operators up to fail.

What does this portend for Nigeria?

Foreign vessels will continue to dominate our coastal waters, taking away billions of dollars in freight capital, while our youth lose out on thousands of seafaring jobs.

Minister Adegboyega Oyetola and NIMASA must stop the endless circular arguments. The government must immediately engage genuine indigenous shipowners, simplify the rigid banking rules, and provide full account transparency.

Our blue economy cannot float on a sea of endless delays and conflicting balance sheets.

It is time to let Nigerian shipowners see the books, access the funds, and secure our waters.

Ibrahim Nasiru is Public Affairs Analyst