The banks are Union Bank, Zenith Bank,
Polaris Bank, United Bank for Africa, UBA, and Jaiz Bank. They will serve as
Primary Lending Institutions for the disbursement of the funds.
Disclosing this at the flag-off ceremony of
Batch B of the 3rd phase of the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme, NSDP,
during the weekend, Minister of Transportation, Mauzu Sambo, said President
Mohammadu Buhari has directed that the fund be disbursed immediately.
Recall that deductions from all contracts
within the Cabotage area by Nigerian shipowners started 17 years ago with
stakeholders calling for the disbursement to aid the nation’s shipping
capacity.
The Minister has directed the Director
General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, to start
the process leading to the disbursement immediately.
The breakdown of the amount shows that the
Naira component amounts to N16 billion while the foreign currency is about $350
million.
Sambo stated: “The approval was forwarded
to my office late Friday (December 9, 2022) but I thought it wise to use this
opportunity for this ceremony where some of the primary beneficiaries are in
attendance.
“On Monday the DG NIMASA is going to get a
formal communication from me conveying the approval from Mr. President and I
expect him to take immediate steps, when I say immediate I mean immediate.
“There is no question of one or two weeks,
once he receives the communication, he knows what to do next.
“We have pledged to the president that they
will continue to allow the funds to go into the Treasury Single Account, TSA;
however, whenever the money hits the threshold of $50million, the CBN upon
recommendation from NIMASA and the Federal Ministry of Transportation, would be
expected to transfer the funds to the Primary Lending Institutions.”