Stakeholders in the nation’s maritime industry have expressed doubt about the creation of a maritime industry bank.
Their doubts came as a result of speculations that without a dedicated maritime bank, the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) maybe depleted or tempered with.
Over the years, industry players have clamored for a maritime bank that will deal with maritime industry-related funding, they have argued that a maritime bank is more competent and better qualified to deal with maritime issues than conventional commercial banks.
However, in a chat with Shipping Position Daily, a maritime expert and former Director of Research and Advocacy at the Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI); Dr. Vincent Nwani stated that government has no reason to establish a maritime bank.
According to him, the maritime sector only contributes less than one percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while stating that establishing a sector-specific bank will not address the bottlenecks and the financial challenges in the sector.
Nwani stressed that establishing a maritime bank will lead to duplicity of banks and expansion of an already expanded government, noting that other sectors that contributes higher GDP in the country don’t have specific banks, adding that countries such as Singapore where the maritime industry contributes about 8% of their GDP don’t have specific industry banks.
He asked: “Do we really need a maritime bank; why do we need a maritime bank? The Nigeria maritime industry is less than one percent of the GDP while in countries like Singapore, the maritime industry contributes about 8 percent of GDP, countries like South Africa is about three percent of GDP, but our own is less than 1% of GDP, even the other sector that are large enough like ICT, telecomm that contributes about 14% of our GDP, Oil and Gas about 9% of GDP, so I don’t think we need sectors specific banks”.
Speaking on how ship owners can get loans to build ships and remain in business, he said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has become invariably a development bank, where special loans offer can be acquired for such purposes.
He also lamented that specific-sector banks established so far in the country have failed to serve the country.
“If we are looking for incentivized loans to build ships and to do things that we should have done, CBN has become invariably a development bank, that put all these cheap loans for that.
“So, for Nigeria, I don’t think we need a maritime bank, because agricultural bank has not served us, people are saying that we should also have Industrial banks; some are even saying that we should have a land bank, all these multiplicities with the cost of operating it still on the government that we are saying should be smaller, I don’t think the maritime bank is what Nigeria needs this time”.
Arguing further, he said, “can Bank of Industry stand on its own without CBN, so we need to think very well, so I am not in support of status-specific bank, it will lead to duplicity and also expansion of the government that is already expanded, that we are pleading to be smaller and more efficient”
“The whole of transport sector contributes about 4% of GDP, lets work with what we have before and make this government smaller; I don’t think the countries that have progressed in maritime sector it is as a result of maritime bank”, he said.
Speaking also, the Vice President Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA); Mr Kayode Farinto also expressed doubt that the clamor for a maritime bank over the years will likely not see the day light, informing that government lacks the political will to do so.
Farinto explained that since its difficult for the government to disburse the CVFF, it will be difficult for the government to come up with a maritime sector bank, stressing that it takes a proactive thinking government to do so.
According to him, “What makes it difficult for Federal government to disburse Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund makes it difficult for the government to have a foresight of the maritime bank, there is no two-way about it.
“We need a round peg in a round hole, we need somebody who will be proactive in thinking forward and you now put people who are incapable at the helms of affairs as Minister or as head of any parastatal, then we should expect result like this, because if it is difficult for government to disburse the CVFF, it will be difficult for them to have a maritime bank, they are not even thinking along that line” he added.
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