Business
Belemaoil Setting Pace For N’Delta Dev, Jonathan Affirms
Former President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan has hailed the community development efforts of Belemaoil and its Founder, Mr. Tein Jack-Rich.
Jonathan gave the commendation at the weekend, while unveiling a potable drinking water facility and 1,250KVA power plant for Idama community in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The project is a joint venture partnership with Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and Belemaoil.
Jonathan, represented by Amb Godknows Igali, urged other oil companies operating in the Niger Delta region to emulate the Belemaoil model.
He said, “The former president has indicated strongly that this is a great model for all other oil companies operating in the Niger Delta region to emulate and show their footprints in their host communities, to bring more succour to the people.
“The Niger Delta host community story has always been that of neglect by oil operators
He (Jonathan) specially asked me to thanked Belemaoil for this project, and we hope it will be the model that will be emulated by other operators.”
In his remarks, President and Founder of Belemaoil Producing Limited, Mr. Tein Jack-Rich, commended President Muhammadu Buhari and NNPC for their continuous support to the company.
Jack-Rich announced that the company would commissioned other projects in the coming months, such as Kula electricity project, as well as other projects in Sokoto and Enugu states.
“I want to thank the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who has been so supportive to every idea and every opportunity that I have sought for. I also appreciate our former President Goodluck Jonathan, who calls me his son.
“I appeal to the people in our region we must come together, rally round what we have in order to produce what we need. Nobody will celebrate you if you fail to recognise who you are.
“The battle has moved from carrying of guns to intellectual warfare. If other operators can emulate the Belemaoil model, the host communities and the oil industry will be at peace”, Jack-Rich said.
Also speaking, the Group General Manager of NAPIMS, Mr Bala Wunti, represented by General Manager, Community Relations, Mrs Clementina Arubi, assured that they would continue to partner with Belemaoil, while also calling on other operators to emulate the Belemaoil model.
“We at NNPC are proud to commission another laudable and essential project which would provide succour to the people. This project is in furtherance of the government’s social investment initiative through its oil and gas sector.
“Our vision for social interventions is to operate in an ethical and sustainable manner and deal with the environment and social impact occasioned by our activities, hence the approval of various CSR projects by our operators across the country for maximal impact.”
Earlier, the Amanyanabo of Idama community, King Karibo Kariboye, had said the project signified the cordial relationship between Idama-emulate community and Belemaoil.
Similarly, the President of Ijaw National Congress, Prof Benjamin Okaba, commended Belemaoil for setting the pace and urged the oil firm to do more.
Meanwhile, the President of Ijaw Youths Council, Peter Igbifa has commended for Belemaoil for touching lives of Niger Delta people through its programmes.
Igbifa regretted that many oil firms have failed to prosper due to inability to be socially responsible to their host communities.
“Every Ijaw community is suffering from water. As the rivers get destroyed by oil pollution, so has our lands and underground source of water is polluted.
“IOCs should know that there is no room for excuses. The people of this region must not be tested of their patients. Belemaoil has shown that been socially responsible is possible,” he stressed.
By: Kevin Nengia
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.