Business
Obaseki Assents To 2017 Budget, Contributory Pension Act
Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State yesterday signed the state’s 2017 Appropriation Bill of N153.2 billion into law.
The governor also signed into law a bill for the amendment of the state’s Contributory Pension Act.
Obaseki told the Edo State House of Assembly in Benin that the signing of both bills was remarkable and signified an important era in his administration and in the state.
He added that the 2017 appropriation bill was “a budget of consolidation and prosperity”, saying it would consolidate on achievements of previous administration and lead to prosperity.
He commended the state’s House of Assembly for speedy passage of the appropriation bill and for retaining the budget for the reform of the civil service.
He said “it was clear in our minds that we want to appropriate more money to the civil service, and I am grateful that you have retained all what we asked for.
“Without improving the conditions of the civil service, we will not be able to get the level of productivity required from them.”
The governor said the goal of his administration was to eliminate outstanding pension arrears before the end of his term.
According to him, the state government started implementing the contributory pension scheme in January 2017.
He noted that “we have cut off from the old system and the responsibility we have now is to settle all outstanding pension issues.
“We now have a scheme which will not have pension deficit in future.”
The governor also intimated house members of his administration’s plan to create 500 agro-entrepreneurs and the approval by the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) to run Taiwo Akpata University of Education in the state.
The Speaker of the House, Mr Justin Okonoboh, said “today, we are ready with the appropriation bill and I am excited to present it to Mr Governor.”
Okonoboh said pensioners in Edo would soon smile.
The Chairman of the Appropriation Committee, Mr Damain Lawani, later told
newsmen that the committee gave priority to health and agriculture, considering the ongoing reforms in the sectors.
He said the committee would also perform oversight duties to ensure that the budget was accordingly implemented.
The Edo House of Assembly on Monday passed the state’s 2017 budget proposal of N153.18 billion.
Gov. Obaseki had on Dec. 19, 2016, presented a budget proposal of N150 billion to the Assembly for consideration and passage.
The budget consists of N75.11 billion for capital expenditure and N74.9 billion for recurrent expenditure. (NAN)
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.
