CVFF not held in dollars, naira fall cut its value, ex-NIMASA chief says

The Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) is not sitting in dollars, and its dollar value has fallen because the money was changed into naira, a former head of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has said.

Temisan Omatseye, who was director-general of NIMASA and is now a shipowner, spoke in Apapa, Lagos, as chairman of the 2026 Annual Summit of the Shipping Correspondents Association of Nigeria (SCAN). The theme was low-risk capital for indigenous shipowners.

Outlets that covered the event gave different figures for the fund. Leadership reported it as $350 million, while The Sun and Tribune put it at $700 million. Omatseye's point was the same in all three reports: the headline dollar figure is a historical valuation, not the cash on hand today.

Why the money was changed to naira

According to Omatseye, naira deposits were paying about 23 to 25 per cent interest at the time, while dollar deposits abroad paid only about one to two per cent. So each time the fund received dollars, the money was converted to naira and placed in local currency accounts.

He said the fund's three per cent collections were swept into naira every month, at whatever exchange rate applied on the day.

"CVFF is not held in dollars. It's in naira, and at the present exchange rates, keep your realistic eye," he said.

That arrangement looked good while the naira was stable. Then the currency depreciated sharply in 2023, and the naira balance stopped matching the original dollar figure.

Omatseye said anyone quoting the old dollar number should first convert the actual naira balance at today's rate. He also said any claim that the fund has grown would need to be shown with verifiable records.

What happens next

The CVFF is meant to help indigenous shipowners buy vessels and compete in coastal and inland shipping. Shipowners have long complained that the money is hard to access, and the fund's true size matters to them.

At the same summit, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, said he has directed NIMASA to speed up disbursement of the fund. Oyetola, represented by the ministry's director of media, Anastasia Ogbonna, said the government knows how hard it is for local operators to get long-term financing for vessels.

He asked banks to design financing that fits the maritime business, and urged shipowners to keep proper books and repay loans on time. The government is also looking at a national shipping line run with private partners.

For now, the public has no official statement of the fund's naira balance. Until NIMASA publishes one, the argument over whether it is worth $350 million or $700 million will continue.