Business
Nigeria, Not e-Waste Dump – NESREA
The National Environmental Standards Regulation and Enforcement Agency (NESREA), has reiterated its resolve not to allow Nigeria to be a dumping ground for electrical and electronic waste by foreign nations.
Dr Ngeri Benebo, Director–General of the agency gave the assurance at the second Expert Critique Meeting on the Draft National Environmental Electrical and Electronic Sector Regulations in Abuja
“Nigeria will not be used as dumping ground, we will ensure that adequate regulations are put in place to check against this menace, the developed world is ready and willing to cooperate and partner with Nigeria on this issue”.
“We have received alerts from developed countries on e-waste to be dumped into Nigeria, because Nigeria is part of the global movement against e-waste,’’ she stressed.
According to her, the principal thrust of the regulations is to prevent and minimise pollution, adding that, “they have been divided into various parts with a view to covering the issues at stake from cradle to grave”. She stated that the draft regulations had undergone first expert critique and review, pointing out that the corrected draft had been further reviewed at the state level by the Federal Ministry of Environment.
Benebo, however, said that NESREA would ensure the harmonisation of the new regulations to accommodate states, ministries and other relevant agencies, to guide against movement of toxic wastes in and out of the country.
She stated that Nigeria succeeded in sending back shipments containing e-waste back to its port of entry, because of the network coupled with effective security alert in the country.
The resource person for the review of the draft regulation, Mr Herve Guilcher, from the Office of Hewlett Packard (HP) for Europe and Africa, described e-waste in Africa as a serious issue demanding a serious solution.
He said that e-waste was not as bad as people thought, adding that, “it can be a source of revenue for the informal sector”.
Chief Emeka Dike, President, Alaba International Market Traders Association (AIMTA), called on the government to reduce tariff on imported goods, to enable traders dump importation of e-waste in preference for importation of new electronic and electrical goods.
He argued that reduction of tariff on importation of electrical and electronic goods would check the influx of used electrical and electronic wastes into the country.
“We are ready to comply so long as the legislation will not affect our business and environment, we will key into it,’’ he assured.
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.