Business
NBC Warns Broadcast Stations Against Hate Speeches
Ahead of the forthcoming elections, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) says it will impose heavy sanctions on broadcast stations which promote hate speeches.
The Director General of the commission, Mr Is’haq Kawu, said this on Thursday in Enugu at the inauguration of Family Love FM 99.9 at the European Quarters in Ngwo.
Kawu was represented at the event by a director in the commission, Mr Armstrong Idachaba.
He said that the commission had taken note of hate speeches from some parts of the country, adding that it would guard against its infiltration in the broadcast industry.
“We are already seeing signs of hate speeches among Nigerians and would not tolerate it in the broadcast industry as we prepare for the 2019 elections.
“Our broadcast stations should rather be used to engender tolerance, mutual respect as well as promote unity among Nigerians,” he said.
Kawu said that the broadcast industry had witnessed tremendous growth in the last few years owing to the complete deregulation of the sector.
He said that there were about 800 radio stations in the country, adding that what was expected of them was healthy competition.
“We now have a very competitive private sector that is experiencing great growth.
“Competition in the sector now has multiplier effects in the country in terms of job creation and education.
“The competition among the various players in the industry must continue to be friendly, ‘’ Kawu said.
Earlier in an address of welcome, the Group Managing Director of Multimesh Broadcasting Company Ltd., Mr Godfrey Ohuabunwa, said that company was conceived 32 years ago.
Ohuabunwa said that the station would usher in a new dimension to broadcasting in the South East Zone of Nigeria.
“Our passion for broadcasting has its roots on the need to affect the society that is virtually derailing from basic tenets of upright living and morality.
“This decay has affected our society much so that there seem not to be value for life, stewardship and right standing with God,” he said.
He said that programmes of the station were structured toward the improvement of family values and standards.
Ohuabunwa appealed to regulators in the industry to provide a level playing ground and opportunities for private sector participation in the industry.
He also appealed to relevant government agencies to review downwards customs duties and taxes payable on communication and broadcast equipment for greater results.
“One of the problems which has continued to bedevil this industry is the cost of operations and roll out,” he said.
The Tide source reports that the company is also licensed as a private cable satellite broadcasting company and one of the biggest satellite distribution Pay TV companies.
It also has a radio station in Rivers, Abia and Abuja.
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.
