Business
Customs Boss Assures On 48 Hours Cargo Clearance
Customs Area Controller, Port Harcourt Command, Comptroller Mamman Jamo, has assured that 48 hours cargo clearance can be possible at the ports provided the business community operating at the ports complies with the federal government guideline on importation.
The customs boss who stated this in an interview, said the importers/agents should make proper declaration and correct payments for their import. He noted that the 48 hours clearance is also possible if agents /importers are encouraged to operate at the ports at weekends provided they complied with the official guideline. He said this would go a long way in reducing delay of cargo clearance and port congestion.
According to him, agents should be able to make self assessment of their goods, which would make the verification easier for the officers of Nigerian Customs Service and this, he said would eliminate delay in the release of cargoes declared.
He argued that some operators have cited inconsistency and poor implementation of government policies over the years and government agencies with overlapping functions and lack of adequate infrastructures as reasons why 48 hours cargo clearance might not be attained, but noted that the shipping companies have important role to play to achieve 48 hours clearance of cargo.
“The shipping companies should provide connectivity with agents/their importers and other relevant agencies. Shipping companies should provide definite time for container positioning at the terminal examination bays for select cargoes. The shipping companies should display the actual location of containers and inter-terminal transfer for display, so that the time wasting on locating the cargo is reduced and 48 hours clearance of cargo could be achieved,” he said.
The Customs boss urged the customs officers to live up to their duties, stressing that there must be change in their attitude towards this important aspect of their functions. There should never be delay on any correct documentations and payment of duties as stipulated by law,” he said.
“The service should equally insist on the speedy submission of manifest electronically and thereafter notify the manifest seat within 24 hours of arrival of the vessel, this will equally eliminate delay,” he added.
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.
