Micura Advices Ship Owners Over CVFF Disbursement

Chief Executive Officer, Micura Services Limited, Chief Orobosa Michael Ubogu has tasked ship owners in Nigeria to engage government constructively for the disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF)..

Ubogu who spoke with newsmen over the weekend lamented that lack of vessel acquisition by Nigerians have negative effects on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ,even as he called on the various ship owning associations to advice the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy on the importance of the CVFF disbursement.

According to him, the funds cannot dormant in the various banks when the economy is bleeding adding that the ship owners have done little or noting towards ensuring the vessel acquisition.

He urged the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy to work closely with the ship owners as a tool towards understanding the importance of disbursing the fund the qualified players in the maritime sector .

“I think one of the first things to do is to release the CVFF that have accrued over the years. The money has been there for years and it is just like saving money whine your roof is leaking and when it rains, you are the one that is going to suffer .

Ubogu lamented that billions of naira is being lost to foreigners due to dearth of indigenous shipping companies on coastal trade.

He called the various ship owning associations to come together and engage the Minister and proffer solutions for the disbursement of the CVFF pointing out that government must be held accountable fo rthe whereabout of the controversial fund.

“So, the ship owners associations should put more pressure on the Minister and the presidency to release the fund because Nigeria is losing money from non flagging out vessels

“If I am in the position to speak, the first thing is that they should release the CVFF because if you see how much the country is losing from not having a Nigerian flagged vessel, is huge.

“Thank God NIMASA has been able to reduce the rate of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea because there was a time that we always hear of attacks everyday .

“The rate of attacks also affected the premiums on insurance because in insurance, the more risk, the more the premium

“So, if I have any tangible advice for the Minister, the first thing is to release the CVFF

On port terminal operations, Ubogu noted that:”If you look at the terminals that were concessioned and see what they have done over time , because it is sometimes better for you to marry a wife that has hunch back that you know how to climb than marrying a beauty that will send you to early grave.

The Frontline stevedore contractor also stated that the port concession has changed the narrative of Maritime operations in Nigeria adding that ” The terminals have been there since 2006 and have done well even though they might not have met all the requirements but sixty percent in examination is a pass mark.”