Business
Senate Cautions Govts Against Foreign Loans
The Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, has
urged state governments to desist from unwarranted foreign loans to avoid
creating debt burden for future generations.
The
Chairman of the committee, Senator Ehigie Uzamere, gave the advice in Abuja on
Monday during the budget defence on States’ External borrowing plans.
Uzamere
advised state governments to shun any external financial borrowing plans that
would undermine the future of the people. He said the Senate was worried
because the foreign loans being sought for by most states were not for projects
that would directly benefit the people.
“It
is very sad the way we are going in this country, especially, in terms of
borrowing. Our children yet unborn must not suffer from what they don’t know
anything about.
“When
we approve these loans, our committee will visit the states to see what the
governors are doing with the loans,’’ he said.
A
member of the committee, Senator Gbenga Obadara (ACN- Ogun), advised the states
to ensure that their borrowing plans targeted those areas that would cater for
the needs of the masses.
“There
is no reason for any state to over-borrow. The governors must think of people
that will pay the debt in 10 years’ time.
“We,
as lawmakers, find it difficult to see the states in debt trap. We have states
seeking 100 million dollars.
“Their
debt will continue to pile up. One per cent of loan interest today will become
very huge in 10 years’ time. “We should shun reckless borrowing as much as
possible. Our committee, therefore, advise state governors to cut their cloths
according to their sizes,’’ Obadara added. The Ondo State Commissioner for
Finance, Mr Yele Ogundipe, had presented a 50 million dollars loan request for
health programmes and another 27.9 million dollars for youth employment. The
Enugu State Commissioner for Finance, Mr Ralph Nnaji, submitted a request of 50
million dollars loan for watershed management project, 40 million dollars for
youth empowerment and another 40 million dollars for energy project.
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.
