Business
N13bn Scam, Land Deal: Reps Summon Anyim, Oduah, Others
House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts, yesterday, summoned the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of Lands and Housing, as well as members of the former and current technical boards over alleged N13 billion scam in Federal Housing Authority.
The committee also fixed 27-29 of this month for an investigative hearing on the various roles of those alleged to have disbursed the funds.
Chairman, House Committee on Pubic Accounts, Rep Adeola Olamilekan made this known in a meeting when the Federal Housing Authority, FHA management team led by the MD, Mr. Terver Gemade could not explain how N13 billion of tax payers money was spent.
The breakdown of how the money was expended is as follows: N7.21 billion granted as loan from the Federal Government for the construction of housing units to accommodate civil servants at the Gwarinkpa 2 Estate in Abuja, between 2007 and 2009 financial years.
But this money according to the Auditor-General to the Federation was allegedly was diverted into the construction of infrastructural facilities which was not budgeted for and the loan remained unpaid despite reminders to the Managing Director of FHA for payment.
Another N1 billion said to be an interest for a period of 24 months which the FHA claimed was not the practice of the Federal Government to give its agencies loans on commercial basis for interests.
The FHA was also accused of another N3.72 billion as deficit operating surplus which the MD of FHA attributed to a large board that had contributed to the high operating cost over the years.
The AGF also unearthed that several payment vouchers amounting to N338million were missing and the management could not give a concrete account of the vouchers.
However, defending the allegations, the MD of FHA, Arc Terver Gemade said that most of the transactions happened before he assumed office in 2009.
Gemade said that the loan of N1billion obtained from FMBN has been fully paid while that of interest of the N7billion was yet to be paid and arrangement has been for its payment.
When asked, whether the agency was set up by a Decree or an Act of NASS, Gemade said he was not aware of the law setting up the place.
This response angered all members of the committee who said that the agency he heads must have been operating illegally based on the answer of the MD.
Consequently, the committee resolved to embark on a 3-day hearing on the activities of FHA to ascertain its continued relevance or otherwise.
Also, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Pius Anyim and the Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah are to face House of Representatives’ ad-hoc committee probing alleged land racketeering in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
They are expected to give reasons for the acquisition of the land to be used for the construction of the Centenary city as well as roles of a company specifically floated for that purpose.
The invitation followed the submission of the FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed, during an investigative hearing held yesterday.
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.
