Business
AMNI Trains, Empowers 40 Andoni Youths
A total of 40 youths in Andoni Local Government Area have been trained and empowered in various skills by AMNI Petroleum Development Company.
This is part of the company’s contribution towards youth empowerment, capacity building and community development in its operating areas in Rivers State.
Addressing the grandaunds during the graduation ceremony and presentation of items on Tuesday at the Company’s Head office at Nkpogu in Port Harcourt, the Acting General Manager of the company, Engr. Mohammed Bello, said, “This is part of our social responsibility to empower our host communities and Andoni people are the first to benefit from the empowerment scheme whereby 40 youths from the area were trained in various skills and items related to their various skills presented to the beneficiaries.
He said that this maiden edition is just the beginning of the Memorandum of Understanding Implementation, which he said would galvanise the relationship between the company and the host communities, assuring that more projects and empowerment programmes are underway.
The AGM pointed out that the items include computer sets, sewing machines, hair dryers and welding equipment, among others.
Also speaking, the Safety, Health, Environment and Public Affairs Manager, Tafar Abdullahi, advised the grandaunds to put their skills into good use to enable them be self-employed and create wealth for their well-being.
The Community Liason Officer, Emmanuel Arong while giving brief history of the company said that the company started oil operation in 1997 and has given scholarships to indigent students, rehabilitated schools, engaged Andoni youths in short-term jobs and had also trained youths on skills that would enable them become self-reliant.
The leader of the Andoni delegation, HRH J.W. Okuruket, lauded the efforts of the company for their gesture, while urging the beneficiaries to utilise their skills and the equipment to better their lives.
HRH N.L.A Iraron, Ede-Obolo II told the youths that the world is a global village, hence computers were given to them to explore the world, but cautioned them not to sell the items but rather use such to improve their skills and well being.
On behalf of the beneficiaries, Prince Inyene Otuokwun commended the company for observing part of the agreement in the Memorandum of Understanding reached, assuring that the items would be put into use.
In his closing remarks, the permanent secretary, office of the Head of Service, Chief John-Adaria, charged AMNI to increase the pace of their empowerment and community development programmes in Andoni, saying that if the youths and the host communities are carried along in the scheme of things, the relationship between the communities and the company would continue to remain cordial.
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.
