Business
Gov Lauds NIMASA For Human Capacity Building
The governor of Niger State, Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu has commended the management of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) for its efforts in building human capacity for the Nigerian maritime industry.
The Governor stated this when the Director General/CEO of NIMASA, Ziakede Patrick Akpobolokemi led the Management, and staff of the Agency on a courtesy visit to the Government House Minna.
Governor Aliyu expressed appreciation of the government and people of Niger state over the decision of the Agency to establish an Institute of Maritime Studies at the state owned Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University Lapai saying this is a sure way of correcting the dearth of seafarers globally.
“The world is in short supply of seafarers by about 50 per cent. To build human capacity in this area locally, we must empower our institutions to contribute to the training of seafarers. I want to assure NIMASA that we would do all that is necessary to support this Institute. Even though you have said NIMASA would sponsor the establishment of this Institute 100 per cent, as a responsible government, we will not hesitate to commit resources to this project if need be”.
The governor who has acquired vast experience of the maritime sector over the years during his appointment as the Director of Maritime Services in the Federal Ministry of Transport and later as its Permanent Secretary observed that the DG of NIMASA has proved everybody wrong by galvanising thoughts with a clear vision of repositioning the maritime sector.
The Governor immediately announced the constitution of a high powered committee led by the Vice Chancellor of IBB University, Professor Ibrahim Adamu Kolo to work with NIMASA to facilitate a smooth take-off of the Institute.
Earlier, the Director General of NIMASA had explained to the governor that the NIMASA team was in the state to express its appreciation to the Government of Niger State for its continous partnership with the Agency in areas of human capacity development in the maritime sector.
Mr. Akpobolokemi informed the governor that the Agency has been granted approval to establish an Institute of Maritime Studies in the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University Lapai for the purpose of training seafarers for the award of certificates, diplomas, degrees and post graduate certificates.
He said, “we are here to inform you that the National Assembly has approved our proposal to establish an Institute of Maritime Studies at the IBB University Lapai. The Agency will undertake the construction of the institute which will be in line with global standards and fund it until such a time when we feel it is mature enough to stand on its own. Our desire is to attract the best brains to this Institute through adequate funding to make it trully world class”.
The DG therefore appealed to the government of Niger state and the management of the IBB University to provide a suitable site and ensure a peaceful environment for the establishment of the Institute.
In his vote of thanks, the Vice Chancellor of the IBB University who observed that NIMASA was the first Agency to partner the university in its strategic plan assured the management of NIMASA that every effort would be made to secure the investment of the Agency in the Institute for posterity.
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.