Business
Kupolokun Urges Banks To Assist Indigenous Oil Companies
Former Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Mr Funsho Kupolokun, last Saturday urged Nigerian banks to assist indigenous oil and gas companies to strive.
Kupolokun made the appeal in Lagos during the official unveiling of the new logo of Bell Oil and Gas Ltd and 10th year anniversary of the company.
The former NNPC GMD, however, lauded government initiative on the Nigerian Local Content bill, adding that this was the only way to assist and develop indigenous companies.
He said that banks should encourage indigenous oil companies through grant of loan facilities.
“The essence why government initiated the local content bill is to promote indigenous companies in the country.
“The success of Bell Oil and Gas today is the support of the local content which was developed and supported by government,’’ he said.
Kupolokun, therefore, advised banks to introduce a special funding package to support the participation of indigenous companies in the oil and gas sector of the Nigerian economy.
He said that such support would assist Nigerian entrepreneurs in the technology-driven, capital-intensive oil and gas industry for increased competitiveness.
“Local content in the oil and gas sector is at its loudest and seeks to provide financial support to local oil service providers to enable them fulfil their contractual obligations in the industry.
“The Nigerian Content Act insists on exclusive consideration for Nigerian indigenous service companies, which have demonstrated ownership of equipment, personnel and capacity to execute work on land and swamp areas in the oil industry.’’
Kupolokun added that Nigeria had earned over 800 billion dollars in oil in the last 50 years but had nothing to show for it.
Managing Director, Bell Oil and Gas Mr Kayode Thomas, in his welcome address, lauded the support of government towards assisting indigenous companies in the oil and gas sector.
Thomas said that the 10th year anniversary celebrations and unveiling of the company’s new logo, was to channel it to greater height, adding that the company had spread across nine continents of the world.
He, however, urged Nigerian banks to support local companies to boost indigenous participation in offshore and onshore operations in the oil and gas industry.
Thomas pointed out that the bank’s efforts would complement the Nigerian Content Development Act, which aimed to stimulate the development of indigenous capabilities and increase the contribution of the oil and gas sector to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Thomas said that the company specialised in supplying professional services to the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry.
‘We are dedicated to indigenous content development, and providing the Nigerian oil and gas industry with the essential local participation and increased local content that it lacks.
“Bell Oil and Gas is a provider of Surface Protection services; Line Pipes & OCTG; Flow Control and Well Testing Services, among others.’’
Thomas said that the company believed that Corporate Social Responsibility was integral to the long term sustainability of the organisation.
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.
