Business
FG Distributes 4,116 Buses Valued N37bn Nationwide
A total of 4,116 buses valued N37 billion have been delivered to beneficiaries nationwide under the Federal Government’s Public Mass Transit Revolving Fund (PMTF) Scheme.
The Managing Director of The Infrastructure Bank, Mr Adekunle Oyinloye, stated this in a paper he presented at a National Workshop for Chief Executive Officers of Mass Transit Companies in Abuja.
Oyinloye said the buses were released to mass transit companies to provide cheap and affordable road transport services to Nigerians across the six geo-political zones and the FCT.
According to him, the vehicles were provided under Phases I and II of the N25 billion PMT scheme being managed by The Infrastructure Bank. He stated that the scheme has also empowered over 50,000 Nigerians, including bus drivers, bus assistants, auto-technicians and booking clerks, through direct employment.
“In addition, the scheme has thrived in reducing poverty and enhancing regional integration, as more people are able to move easily across different regions of the country, and across the West African sub-region. “ The PMTF Scheme offers a single digit interest rate regime of five per cent per annum in Phase 1 and zero per cent per annum in Phase II. “This has resulted in cost savings of about N10 billion when compared with the prevailing interest rate of about 25 per cent per annum obtainable in other financial institutions.’’
Oyinloye observed that PMTF beneficiaries were investing those cost savings in providing allied transport infrastructure like motor parks, service centres, ICT platforms, fleet maintenance, among others. “On our part as the fund manager, we have continually managed the PMTF in line with international best practices.
“These are premised on a sound internal credit procedure and robust risk mitigating strategies that ensure beneficiaries fulfill their loan obligations, as and when due. “This is the foundation upon which the successes so far achieved by the Fund were built.
“We are on standby to assist the federal government and any agency to successfully launch and sustain an intervention fund programme for transportation and other economic sectors.’’
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.