Reps halt $700m cabotage fund disbursement, demand audit

Reps halt $700m cabotage fund disbursement, demand audit

Shipowners have a real cause to worry as the House of Representatives has ordered the immediate suspension of the disbursement of $700m Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF).

The lawmakers also demanded an audit of all contracts involving cabotage just as they summoned the minister of transportation on the issue.

The money is expected to be released to the shipowners by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

The Federal Government through NIMASA had promised to disburse the funds before the end of the President Buhari administration.

The agency felt the funds disbursement would accelerate the nation’s transition from crude to blue economy.

But the House on Tuesday directed NIMASA to furnish it with an audited statement of account within seven days showing all monies that had accrued to the CVFF.

Adopting a motion of urgent public importance brought before the House by Henry Nwawuba, the lawmakers also directed its Committee on Local Content to engage an external auditor to audit all contracts entered into in the cabotage regime and report same to the House within seven days.

The committee is also to commence immediate investigations into the Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund to determine all monies that have accrued to the Fund since its establishment in 2003 and report to the House within 14 days.

The lawmakers also asked the Minister of State for Transportation and NIMASA Director-General to report to the House Committee on Local Content on the state of the fund and how the funds have been applied over the past 20 years.

 

Reps halt $700m cabotage fund disbursement, demand audit