Business
Agency Allays Fears On GMOs
The National Biosafety
Management Agency (NBMA), has advised Nigerians not to panic over the introduction of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) into the country’s food and farming system.
The Director-General of NBMA, Mr Rufus Ebegba, made this known when speaking with newsmen on Tuesday in Lagos.
Ebegba debunked reports in the media alleging that the agency had secretly issued two biosafety permits to Monsanto Agriculture Nigeria Limited to release genetically modified cotton and confine field trial of maize.
He said such reports were aimed at causing public panic; saying that the procedures for issuance of the permits must follow due process and in line with the requirements of United Nations Biosafety Clearing House.
He said, what is going on right now is a deliberate attempt to instil fear in Nigerians.
“Government has put in place all safety measures; we have a genetically modified organism detection laboratory with well-trained personnel.
“This agency is less than one year old and were it not for this agency, nobody will be talking about GMOs.
“The agency is established to ensure the safety of Nigerians as regards the use of GMOs and also the research that leads to their development.
“Before now, most people were not hearing about GMOs but the agency has brought it to the fore and it has become a national discourse,” he said.
According to him, the NBMA will not introduce GMO crops into the Nigerian market if such available researches show that they have adverse effect on the safety of the people and the environment.
He noted, there is no individual that can protect Nigerians more than the government and that is why government establishes this agency to ensure safety of humans and the environment is not compromised.
“The application that was granted was filed in October last year; it was put before the public through media by the agency for contributions from stakeholders. There was nothing secret about it.
“The effective date for the permit was May 1 and whether it is a public holiday or not, it has no effect on its validity,” he said.
He explained that since 2009, Nigeria had been receiving applications for biosafety permits.
Ebegba said that permits were granted to other Nigerian institutions such as the Institute of Agricultural Research and the National Feed Crop Research Institute.
“These experiments are still on the field under a very close watch that they are not of adverse effect to the environment and the Nigerian people.
“We have more than 22 agricultural research institutes that are doing research in bio-technology in Nigeria, so it will be of benefit to the country in future.
He further said, I want to assure Nigerians that there is nothing about the issue of being poisoned.
“Apart from that, GMOs have been in the market since 1996 and there is no doubt that they are already here in Nigeria.
“One thing I can boldly tell you, all those ones in the market have been tested and confirmed safe.
“South Africa has been on it for a very long time. Ghana and Burkina Faso are also on it.”
Ebegba said the agency was currently carrying out a survey of all GMOs that might likely have entered the country with the aim of mopping out those not good enough for the market.
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.
