Business
Budget: Give Priority To Capital Projects – Expert
A financial expert, Mr. Lawson Ayaele has advised the Federal Government to give priority to the implementation of capital projects that can grow the economy of the country in the 2016 budget.
He said in an interview with newsmen in Abuja yesterday that if the government paid attention to such projects, the economy would recover rapidly.
“It took a long time for this budget to be signed, I thanked the president for insisting on thorough work but the focus should be on implementation of capital projects.
“ Our economy has been stagnant in the last couple of months, so i think the strength should be in revamping the sectors that can bring about turn around in the economy.
“If that is done, jobs will be created and Nigerians will be happy for it,’’ he said.
He advised that the government should focus on agriculture, power and transport, observing that the sectors were fundamental to bringing the desired change to the country.
He further advised the government to review the projects of the past administration and execute those that could enhance the economy.
“I am happy that this administration said it would continue with some ongoing projects that will make a lot of sense.
“ If you look very well, the inflation is moving up, go to the market, things are so expensive, so, there are many things to be done,’’ he insisted.
Ayaele said that although the N6.6 trillion-budget was huge, if the fight against corruption was sustained, revenues would be used appropriately.
He called on the Federal Government to support the efforts of the Federal Inland Revenue Service to achieve its target in revenue generation.
He advised that the government should monitor other revenue generating agencies to enable them contribute to economic growth and development of the country.
He said the N38 per barrel of oil benchmark was logical as there are expectations that the price would soon come up in the global market.
“Although oil is about 46 dollar per barrel now, the diversification drive of the government is a better option for economic revival of the nation,’’ he said.
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.