PortNews at 30: Publisher Renews Call for Action, Transparency in $800m Cabotage Fund Management
Kathy Kyari
The Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Port News, Mr. Wale Oni, has made a passionate call for greater transparency and accountability in the management of Nigeria’s Cabotage Vessels Finance Fund (CVFF), urging the Federal Government and maritime regulators to urgently release the long idle fund to revive indigenous shipping and create jobs.
Speaking during his welcome address at the publication's 30th anniversary celebration on Thursday in Lagos, Mr Oni, described the event as “epochal,” expressing optimism that the gathering would “effect a change for the better on issues that have stalled the development of Nigeria, of the Nigerian maritime industry and of us as individuals.”
Recounting the humble beginnings of PortNews, Oni said the paper was first published on November 6, 1995, despite financial constraints.
"Honestly, I started it not believing that it would survive, because I had worked in the first maritime newspaper, Freight Monitor, and it packed up after ten months. I became jobless but not hopeless,” he said.
He credited the survival of the publication to the generosity of the current Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, who, as the then Public Relations Officer at the Tin Can Island Customs Command, provided crucial support.
"He called me to his office, gave me some words of advice and gave me names of agents to meet. ‘Tell them you are from me,’ he said. I did and PortNews survived,” Oni recalled.
Reflecting on the resilience of Nigeria’s maritime industry, Oni noted that the sector had consistently sustained national revenue even during economic downturns.
"Nigeria's maritime industry has a unique trait… it has never witnessed or been grounded by Nigeria's many recorded economic crises. On the contrary, it is this sector that is the buffer, the saving grace that always bails Nigeria out,” he stated.
However, he decried the stagnation in indigenous shipping, blaming it partly on the prolonged inaccessibility of the Cabotage Vessels Finance Fund (CVFF), which was established in 2003 to support local ship owners.
"Between 2003, it is being mouthed that about $800 million has been realized into the CVFF purse. Some rumour it to be one billion dollars… Why can’t government tell us the exact amount? Why this level of opaqueness?” Oni queried.
While commending the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) for safeguarding the fund for over two decades, Oni questioned why it had not been disbursed to boost indigenous participation in coastal shipping.
"Why would a nation deem it wise to save about $800 million for so long without finding it expedient to dispense it for the purpose it was generated? When thousands of its skilled seamen, master mariners, professionals trained at exorbitant costs… are loafing around, wasting away?” he asked.
Oni lauded NIMASA’s plan to disburse the CVFF through selected commercial banks as a safeguard against mismanagement but stressed that the delay in releasing the funds remained counterproductive.
“We cannot continue to shoot ourselves in the foot… A vibrant Cabotage regime that ensures Nigeria leads the lines in West African waters would not only generate billions of dollars but create gainful job opportunities for young Nigerians,” he added.
He emphasized that the time had come for decisive action, urging stakeholders to “convert this idle fund to endeavors that generate livelihoods for our people.”
The event also featured a lecture by Captain Ladi Olubowale, President of the African Ship Owners Association (Nigeria), whom Oni described as “an intimidating credential, to be elected by Africa to lead Nigeria,” adding that his lecture represented “Africa talking to or admonishing Nigeria.”
The anniversary celebration brought together maritime stakeholders, policymakers, and industry veterans to deliberate on pathways toward sustainable growth and renewed indigenous participation in Nigeria’s blue economy.
The event celebrated and honoured a select group of distinguished figures in the maritime industry for their outstanding contributions to shipping, port management, maritime safety, and trade facilitation.
Among those recognized was the Comptroller-General of Customs, Dr. Wale Adeniyi, MFR, lauded for his innovative and integrity-driven leadership in transforming customs operations.
Other award recipients included the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Capt. Emmanuel Iheanacho, Dr. Taiwo Afolabi, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Prince Olayiwola Shittu, Chief Bola Muse, Olori Vicky Haastrup, and Flour Mills of Nigeria.
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