Business
Delayed Results: RSUST Absolves Consultant
The Vice Chancellor of the Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST), Port Harcourt, Prof Barine Fakae has absolved the consultant handling the processing of students results of any blame regarding the non approval of final year students results for the 2008 set of graduating students.
Prof Fakae who made this clarification while speaking to the press in an interview in Port Harcourt explained that the strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is responsible for the delay in the clearing of the 2008 final year results for this year’s NYSC programme, and not the IT consultant.
He further explained that the IT consultant has directed the processing of students results in such a sensitive cautious manner.
But in a sharp reaction, the Chairperson of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), UST branch, Emilia Jaja on her part said that it is not true that the delay in releasing students results in the institution was because lecturers were not doing their job.
She said “ I have spoken with the vice chancellor one on one. He has not told us that the cause of delay in students results is as a result of defaulting lecturers. We have asked him to give us the name(s) of defaulting lecturers. Results were submitted in January and ASUU started strike in June, and so how has the ASUU strike affected the result, she queried.
Also one of the students affected by the delay in the 2008 set, Ismael Santo has appealed to both the authority of the institution and the ASUU to resolve issues inhibiting the release of results to enable students go for the next batch of the NYSC scheme.
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Banking/ Finance
Ripple Survey Reveals Appetite for Digital Assets
Cornerstone of Financial Services
A survey of more than 1 000 global finance leaders undertaken by digital payment network Ripple shows that 72% of respondents believe they need to offer a digital asset solution to remain competitive.
According to Ripple, leaders from the banking, fintech, corporate and asset management sector have made it clear that the “digital asset revolution is happening now”.
“Digital assets are quickly becoming a cornerstone of financial services, underpinned by progressive regulation, growing interest from Tier-1 banks, a steady consumer shift from banks to fintech providers, and booming stablecoin adoption,” Ripple says.
The survey was conducted in early 2026 and the findings released in March.
Stablecoin Boon or Bane?
Ripple has experienced significant success in the stablecoin sector since launching its Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin in 2024.
With a market cap of $1.56 billion, it is considered a major regulated player in the market.
No doubt the platform was pleased to learn through its own survey that financial leaders were most bullish about stablecoins.
Roughly three-quarters of respondents believed they could boost cash-flow efficiency and unlock trapped working capital.
Ripple noted that finance leaders were thinking about stablecoins as more than “just a new way to execute payments”; instead, they viewed them as effective tools for treasury management.
In March 2026, Ripple began testing a new trade finance model built around RLUSD in a bid to increase the speed of cross-border payments.
The pilot initiative, developed alongside supply chain finance company Unloq [https://unloq.com], is running on the XRP Ledger inside a testing framework developed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
The Asian city-state is one of the platform’s biggest growth markets.
The idea behind the project is to see whether stablecoin-based settlement can streamline trade finance, too often hampered by reliance on intermediaries and slow reconciliation.
The only potential drawback is that if the initiative takes off, the Ripple to USD price could be negatively affected.
Ripple has always championed its native XRP token as a bridge asset, the “middleman” in the process of a financial institution turning dollars in the US into pounds in the UK, for example.
Ripple converts dollars into XRP and then back into pounds.
If RLUSD can do exactly the same thing, questions will be asked about XRP’s relevance.
That is a bridge Ripple will have to cross if it gets to that point.
Tokenisation Partners
Another interesting finding from Ripple’s survey is that most banks and asset managers are seeking tokenisation partners to help execute their strategies.
Some 89% of respondents said digital asset storage and custody were top priority. “Token servicing/lifecycle management also ranks highly for banks at 82%, while asset managers place greater emphasis on primary distribution at 80%,” Ripple found.
The survey also revealed that just more than half of fintechs and financial institutions want an infrastructure provider that can offer a “one-stop-shop solution”. This rose to 71% among corporate financial leaders.
Ripple attributes this to institutions and firms wanting uncomplicated, cohesive systems.
Infrastructure Rules
In its final analysis, Ripple says companies across the board are looking for partners and solutions that are “secure, compliant, battle-tested and that enable growth and execution”.
“The message is clear: infrastructure decisions made today will shape competitive positioning tomorrow.”
No surprise that this is precisely where Ripple is placing much of its focus.
