Nearly a year after the appointment of a new Managing Director for the much-hyped Regional Maritime Development Bank (RMDB), stakeholders in Nigeria’s maritime industry have raised serious concerns over the bank’s silence, lack of visibility, and failure to engage with key players in the sector.
In separate interviews with Shipping Position Daily, several ship owners and freight forwarders described the RMDB as “a project that exists only on paper,” warning that it risks going the way of other unfulfilled maritime initiatives such as the disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF).
Otunba Sola Olatunji, a frontline ship owner, said the so-called Regional Maritime Bank appears to be another layer of bureaucracy designed to delay rather than drive industry financing. “We have heard about this bank for years now — promises upon promises, yet nothing concrete. The way things are going, it seems the whole idea is just being used to drag and postpone the real issues,” he said.
Olatunji expressed concern that the RMDB might simply be a distraction from the government’s longstanding failure to disburse the CVFF to indigenous operators.
“Our fear is that maybe they’re using the Regional Bank to divert attention from the CVFF issue. As it stands, the so-called bank exists only on paper,” he added.
Similarly, ship owner Prince Adedoyin Ayorinde admitted that he has little or no information about the bank’s structure, operations, or engagement strategy since its leadership appointment.
“I’ve had no interaction with them whatsoever. From what I know, they haven’t started engaging ship owners or industry stakeholders,” he said.
Freight forwarders also expressed skepticism about the bank’s relevance. Mr. James Eze, a licensed customs agent, said, “We keep hearing about the Regional Maritime Bank, but there is no trace of its operation anywhere — no office, no structure, no sensitization. It looks more like a political announcement than an operational institution.”
Mrs. Tonia Balogun, another freight forwarder, said the lack of transparency and communication has left operators disillusioned.
“We expected a clear roadmap or updates on funding opportunities by now. But the silence is too loud. It’s hard to take the project seriously when there’s no visible activity,” she said.
The RMDB, conceived under the Maritime Organization of West and Central Africa (MOWCA), was envisioned to provide funding for ship acquisition, port infrastructure, and blue economy projects across member states. It was formally launched in 2021 in Abuja, with Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, and others as shareholders. Its headquarters was later designated for Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and its first Managing Director appointed in 2023.
Years later, however, the bank’s impact is yet to be felt in the region. Industry watchers say its inactivity mirrors a pattern of unfulfilled promises in Nigeria’s maritime agenda — from the CVFF delays to stalled port reforms.
As Olatunji bluntly put it, “Until we see a bank that is physically engaging operators and actually lending money, everything else remains talk.”
