Business
NPA Restates Commitment To Safety At Ports
The Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority, Mallam Habib Abdullahi said in Lagos few days ago that the Authority was committed to safety within the nation’s Seaports.
He said his commitment informed the recent provision of fire equipment, sensitisation of Port community on safety and fire prevention, training and retraining of its fire service personnel in accordance with national legislation, international standard and best practices.
Abdullahi who spoke at the passing out parade for SQUAD 48 recruit firemen and women of the Authority after a six-month training at the Fire Service Central Training School in Tin-Can Island Port, said it was important to give priority to safety within an organisation.
The Managing Director who spoke through the Executive Director, Marine and Operations, David Omonibeke, an engineer, disclosed that the training school will soon be renovated and expanded for it to accommodate larger number of students from within and outside the Authority.
Apparently impressed by the knowledge and skills exhibited during their practical demonstration before guests on the occasion, Omonibeke commended the initiative of the Health, Safety and Environment division and all those who were connected in one way or another with the training of the recruits.
Earlier in a welcome address, the Chief Fire Officer of the Authority, Mr W.S Olayiwola revealed that the recruits have undergone a mandatory six months intensive basic fire fighting, prevention, control, rescue and squad drilling which he said was the hallmark of any Para-military organisation.
Highlight of the occasion was the presentation of awards to the Managing Director and the Executive Director, Marine and Operations for their support, as well as some recruits for their outstanding performance.
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.