The Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA),

Dr Dayo Mobereola, yesterday, assured stakeholders in the maritime industry that the over $360million Cabotage Vessels Finance Fund (CVFF) is intact and would soon be disbursed to qualified indigenous shipowners to boost the economy.

Moberrola gave the assurance based on what the agency called an unfounded allegation that the accrued Cabotage funds had been tampered with by some unknown government officials.

“Funds accrued under the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) are intact and currently held with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under the Single Treasury Account (TSA). This is contrary to a misleading publication alleging that the funds have disappeared from the CVFF account,” NIMASA said in a statement, adding that the report of missing funds, “is both misleading and false.

“For the record, the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund, securely held in the NIMASA account at the CBN remains intact. There has been no disappearance of funds, and no illegal transactions, as the article suggests.

This misinformation is a figment of the authors’ imagination; aimed at undermining NIMASA’s integrity, and mislead the public about the Agency’s operations.

The management of NIMASA, the statement said “will ensure that the CVFF is utilised in line with its statutory purpose.

“Let us be clear that the CVFF account at the CBN is safe, intact, and secure. We at NIMASA will continue to manage it with the utmost responsibility, and there are no irregularities or illegal activities surrounding the funds. I urge the public to disregard this false narrative and to continue trusting the Agency’s ability to uphold the integrity of Nigeria’s maritime sector,” the statement read.

The CVFF is a fund established under section 42 of the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act 2003 to promote the development of indigenous ship acquisition capacity and to provide credit facilities to local maritime operators.