Dr Mkgeorge Onyung, newly-elected President of Shipowners’ Association of Nigeria (SOAN) has promised to ensure the disbursement of the Cabotage Vessels Finance Fund (CVFF) to maritime operators.
Speaking after his election in Lagos on Tuesday, Onyung said that the association would engage the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Federal Ministry of Transportation over the disbursement of the fund, NAN reports.
He said that the intervention fund was created for the benefits of shipowners and it must be disbursed for the purpose.
“The CVFF is created for the benefit of indigenous shipowners and the fact that it had not been disbursed means something needs to be fine tuned.
“So, I will come back with my team to look at what are the possibilities and what is the real nagging problem so that we can address it for a win-win situation.”
“It is not my job to ensure CVFF is disbursed but I believe government is working on the disbursement but we will create a team that will address all issues that affect our members and the CVFF is one of them,” Onyung said.
He said that its executive members would look at the best way to ensure that CVFF is disbursed to our members.
Onyung said that the task ahead of the new executive is enormous, adding that its members would support NIMASA’s five years waiver cessation plan for the actualisation of Cabotage Act.
The newly elected president also promised to build an association that would engage stakeholders in the sector constructively to enable Nigeria become the hub in the West and Central Africa region.
