By Our Correspondent
Lagos, April 4, ’25 (TNZ) No fewer than ten local shipping firms have accessed the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board’s (NCDMB) $360 million credit facility, domiciled at the Bank of Industry (BOI), on a single-digit interest rate.
TheNewsZenith reports that the Executive Secretary of the board, Mr Felix Ogbe, announced this during a panel discussion at the 2025 edition of the Maritime Business Roundtable Breakfast Meeting.
Zoe Maritime Resources Ltd. organised the business roundtable with the theme “Maritime Logistics and Sustainability of the Ocean Economy”.
The General Manager in charge of Research, Statistics and Development of NCDMB, Mr Silas Ajimijaye, represented Ogbe at the event.
He said the Bank of Industry is managing the fund, which has reduced the default rate. More beneficiaries access the loan and they are paying it back quickly.
Ogbe listed the Stars Marine Investment as one of the beneficiaries. It appreciated NCDMB for helping them and other counterparts in the oil and gas logistics chain.
According to him, there are several others, apart from Stars Marine, that NCDMB is working with because “the fund keeps growing”.
NCDMB Scribe said the board was working with several other government agencies to grow the fund.
“The Act establishing NCDMB allows us to collaborate with other relevant government agencies to deepen local content.
“We are doing this with the cabotge law to ensure compliance with the law.
“There is also the Nigerian Content Plan (NCP), which is involved in every contract arrangement. This is to ensure that Nigerians can take over such contract jobs in the long run.
“In the manning vessels, you have to show how you make Nigerians understand your system and integrate Nigerians into your system.
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“NCDMB also collaborate with international companies to train Nigerian seafarers. We also do advocacy and capacity-building training.
“This is to enhance efficiency in the maritime and logistics chain,” TheNewsZenith quotes Ogbe as saying.
Ogbe commended BOI for managing the fund well, saying the default rate was low.
“NCDMB also recognise partners like NIMASA, NIWA and other institutions and industry players, collaborating to solve the problems,” Ogbe said.
He said that the NCDMB has also established the Maritime Vessel Categorisation System to ensure the number of people and their relevance to the particular vessels in operation.
The Head of Marine at the Nigerian Inland Waterway Authority (NIWA), Lagos Office, Mrs Elsie Egwuatu, also made a presentation at the roundtable.
Eqwuatu explained that NIWA was a statutory regulator of the inland waterways across the country.
She highlighted NIWA’s critical roles in promoting maritime logistics and the sustainability of the ocean economy.
“This way NIWA is making operations on inland waterways safe and seamless, she said.
The General Manager of the Lagos Waterways Authority (LASWA), Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, also sent a message to the roundtable forum.
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Mr Sunday Ukeme, a Maritime Engineer and Vessel Surveyor who represented the GM, said LASWA had established a monitor and control centre in the Falomo area of Lagos.
“We established the monitoring center to monitor all ferry routes across the state and provide quick response for water accident.
“LASWA also established watergards at various jetty terminals to ensure safety standards.
“In the last 13 years, LASWA has employed 20 female professional staff working in various departments.
“We had also established an empowerment programme for women in the reverine area called Water Hyacinth Programme.
“This is focusing on how to convert the weeds to useful products,” TheNewsZenith quotes him as saying.
The LASWA boss said that instead of allowing water hyacinth to cause accidents on the waterways, we harvest and dry them.
In her opening remarks, Convener of the meeting and Chair of Zoe Maritime Resources, Mrs Tosan Edodo-Emore, said that maritime logistics was a major driver of the ocean economy in the digital age.
Edodo-Emore spoke on the importance of evaluating how logistics affect the development of the ocean economy.
She said Nigeria should harness her ocean resources in a manner that sustains her population and eradicates poverty. (TNZ)
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