Business
Ministry Plans Birds Migration Sensitisation
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has concluded plans to create awareness on the migration of birds from their original habitat to other places in search of a conducive environment.
The Deputy Director, Wild Life Management in the ministry, Mr. Fidelis Omeni said this while speaking with newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday.
He said the ministry was committed to bringing awareness to Nigerians on the importance of the migration of birds.
He said that the awareness was designed to enlighten the public on migratory species of birds to various countries as the global community prepared to celebrate the World Migratory Bird Day on May 12. Omeni identified migratory birds as birds that cross international boundaries for survival.
According to him, the birds that migrate across international boundaries become the property or symbol of many countries through which they fly and survive.
He said that in order to protect these birds, efforts should be made to ensure that all living organisms exist in their habitat to make the environment conducive for all.
He explained that birds that migrate across international boundaries become the property or symbol of many countries through which they fly and survive.
According to him, in order to protect these birds, efforts should be made to ensure that all living organisms exist in their habitat to make the environment conducive for all.
The director explained that the enlightenment programme would be organised under the platform of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). CITES is an international agreement among nations aimed at ensuring that the international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants do not threaten their survival.
He added that it was because such migratory birds from Europe, North Africa and several other parts of the world found Nigeria habitable to spend their winter in the country.
The Deputy Director advised Nigerians to continue to ensure and maintain favourable environment for these birds.
Omeni warned that if Nigerians killed the birds through trapping, poaching or illegal hunting of their eggs, it would threaten the survival and welfare of the species.
On Avian Influenza, he said, though the country had had its own share of the menace a few years back, the ministry was working hard to make sure the issue was well understood. The deputy director stressed that it was the responsibility of the country to put in place measures that would ensure that wild birds’ diseases were not transferred to the local birds.
‘’Besides research, looking for solutions and effective drugs, we have the responsibility as a country to ensure that the birds that are resident in Nigeria are not contaminated by the visiting birds.’’
According to him, migration of birds are indicators of climate change as the birds have the ability to detect when and where is suitable for them to reside.
He advised that the ministry should have maps of flyways that these birds used, for effective monitoring to enhance their survival.
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.