Business
FG Begins Certification Of Kaduna Geosciences Lab
The Federal Government has commenced a process of certifying the National Geosciences Research Laboratories (NGRL), in Kaduna to ensure that results of mineral sampling analysed in the laboratory meet international standard.
Deputy Director in charge of the Director-General Office, Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), Mr Isaac Okorie, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen on Sunday in Abuja.
Thr NGRL is one of the centres of excellence established by the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), to conduct analytical tests on rocks, minerals and water in line with the responsibilities of the agency.
Okorie said, as part of efforts to certify the laboratory, some vital basic equipment needed for the process had been fixed.
He said that some equipment that required to be in operation for 24 hours nonstop had been settled.
He added that the three sources of power, including public power supply, three standby generators and solar system for the equipment had also been put in place.
Okorie, however, noted that the whole process for the certification would have been a thing of the past but due to lack of political will and funds that delayed the process.
According to him, the achievements made so far toward the process of certifying the laboratory is from the little fund made available to the NGSA by the government.
“We still need more to buy more equipment, expand the building and others,” he said.
He decried the way and manner in which miners took mineral samples to overseas for analysis while paying exorbitant foreign currencies for the analysis.
He said the advantages of the certification were enormous as the results of minerals analysed from the laboratory would be recognised and accepted at the international level.
“It will also save hard currencies for the mining operators and would create massive employment for the teeming youth.
“It will build relationship between Nigeria and International community and also reduce the cost of exploration and give clearer geology of minerals, “he said.
Okorie added that the laboratory would not only serve as mineral analysis centre but would also as a training centre for the allied industries, universities, security agencies, among others.
He said the agency engaged a world leading company, Society Generale de Souvelliance (SGS) for the certification.
He said it would also train the personnel on how to operate and conduct mineral analysis.
He said that, the certification of the laboratory would take two years to complete if adequate fund was provided.
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.
