Even though the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, Thursday, April, 16th, 2026, announced that President Bola Tinubu has approved the disbursement of the controversial Cabotage Vessels Financing Fund (CVFF), some shippers who barred their minds on the issue brushed it aside, insisting that until the first applicant gets the fund, they do not trust the government.
On why they expressed doubts on the minister’s announcement, they noted that more than two past ministers have told them the same thing and nothing came out of it.
One of the most pained shipping company officer, who pleaded anonymity said “Even Oyetola has not even given them the high level of assurance we received from former Minister Rotimi Amaechi, yet it was a Yahoo-yahoo scam for many of us in the industry till date.”
Business Hilights.ng recalls that during the commissioning of the new Maritime Studies Building at the Unilag yesterday, Oyetola confirmed the approval of President Tinubu to kick start the disbursement of the fund.
It would be recalled that the application portal for the interventionist funds was opened by NIMASA on January 22nd, 2026 for eligible indigenous ship owners to indicate interest in the $25 million CVFF.
About 60 applicants were said to have indicated interests through the application portal.
However, Oyetola, at the institute launch, enthused that the funds, when disbursed, is expected to boost indigenous shipping capacity and create up to 30,000 jobs.
However, stakeholders were cautious in this optimism over the Minister’s pronouncement of the presidential approval.
They said the same approval was allegedly secured by two erstwhile Ministers of Transportation including Alhaji Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, who claimed that the then President Mohammed Buhari has given his approval for the disbursement and swore with his honour that the CVFF would be disbursed before he leaves office which never happened.
They further argued that “Again, Rotimi Amaechi did the same April fool on us, so we are yet to believe Oyetola as far as CVFF is concerned. In fact, some of have the feeling that the government has made another use of the fund and that is why every Minister is playing with our intelligence.”
