In its quest to enhance capacity building in the Nigerian maritime sector, the management of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has initiated discussions with the management of the Bank of Industry (BoI) on potential partnerships.
The discussions centre more on the disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund (CVFF) and other areas.
The Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Mr. Jibril Abba, who represented the Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dayo Mobereola,
made this disclosure during a visit by the Management of the Bank of Industry, led by Executive Director of Large Enterprises, Mrs. Ifeoma Uz’Okpala.
It would be recalled that the BOI has been a strategic partner in managing the Nigerian Content Intervention (NCI) Fund for the Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and successfully disbursed over $350million.
The partnership may fastrack the disbursement of NIMASA’s CVFF which been a subject discussion in recent times.
Explaining the mandate of NIMASA in the Nigerian maritime industry, the Director General stated that in addition to safety, security, and maritime labour, the NIMASA mandate encompasses capacity development aimed at growing the sector.
He restated the agency’s commitment to collaboration as a vital tool for achieving its mandate, stressing that the aim is to actualize the vision of the Federal Government to reposition the maritime sector, especially with the creation of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.
Responding, the Executive Director of Large Enterprises at BOI, Mrs. Uz’Okpala, affirmed the bank’s readiness to support the agency.
She also emphasized the importance of collaboration in implementing a robust capacity-building initiative that will contribute to economic growth in Nigeria.
BoI is Nigeria’s oldest and largest Development Finance Institution (DFI) currently in operation. It is owned by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) Nigeria (94.80%), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) (5.19%) and private shareholders (0.01%).
PHOTO: Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Jibril Abba (3rd left); Executive Director, Large Enterprises, Bank of Industry, Ifeoma Uz’Okpala (2nd left); Director, Cabotage Services, NIMASA, Kabiru Murnai (left); Director, Legal Services, NIMASA, Aishatu Jidda (right) and others during a visit by the Management of the Bank of Industry (BoI) to the NIMASA headquarters, recently.