Business
Nigerians Charge FG On Poverty Reduction
Nigerians have urged the Federal Government to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor to stem the rising level of poverty in the country.
The respondents told newsmen in Abuja yesterday that one way to eradicate poverty in the country was to raise the literacy level.
Mrs Philomena Matthew, a trader at Utako Market in the FCT called for the bridging of the gap between the poor and the rich through the re-distribution on income.
Matthew also noted that illiteracy was synonymous with poverty. She said that when citizens could read, write and think well, the nation would be on the path of poverty reduction if not eradication.
According to her, accountability by government at all levels was a stepping stone towards fighting corruption and eradication of poverty.
Also commenting, Mr Eric Nwanosike, a businessman, told newsmen that the country had not done enough in the fight against poverty.
Nwanosike called for the enforcement of the tax policy and accountability.
“With proper accountability and taxation we will in position to monitor and apply national resources for development to benefit the largest number of our citizens and prevent a situation where national resources will be grabbed by a few people”.
On his part, Mr Emmanuel Okoye, A UK-based Nigerian, said it was obvious that not much had been done to reduce the poverty level and therefore, suggested for human capital and infrastructural development as a way out.
Mr James Omakbo, another trader, observed that the various poverty reduction programmes had been hijacked by the privileged, thereby denying targeted people.
Omakbo urged government at all levels to restructure the programmes to ensure that the real poor people benefitted from them.
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.
