Business
Security: Association to install scanning machines in Abuja Market
The Chairman of Wuse
Traders Association, Mr Raphael Okorie, says his administration would install CCTV cameras, street lights and scanning machines in the market to ensure adequate security of lives and property.
Okorie told newsmen in Abuja yesterday that the measure, especially the Close Circuit Television Cameras (CCTV), would also forestall any breach of security in the market.
He said that this was one of the many plans the new executives had for the market.
He explained that security issue was a collective responsibility for everybody and should not be left for only security personnel.
Okorie added that many of the traders suffered double taxation, noting that though this was a national issue, the association would meet Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to sort things out.
Okorie said that plans were underway to tackle the issue by harmonising Nigerian tax system in line with international best practices.
He assured the members who could not rent shop in the market due to high cost that the new executive had made an agreement with investors to build affordable markets for them.
Okorie listed such areas as Mabuchi, Wuye and Garki where “cheap markets” would be built for the members who could not afford to do their business in Wuse Market.
He said that the newly elected officials were making arrangements with some financial institutions to ensure that the members of the association got soft loans to run their businesses.
Okorie said that Wuse Market was the cleanest in the country and assured that his administration would sustain the tempo.
He promised to apply a democratic system of administration to execute all the programmes set for the development of the market.
Okorie promised the association that he would ensure that businesses were carried out by members in environment devoid of intimidation or harassment by anybody.
He urged the members to give the newly-elected officials their full support, adding that the officials also required some time to do their work.
Okorie said that the new executives would not disappoint the members.
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.
