Business
Oil Price Can Never Rise Above $100/Barrel Again – Emefiele
The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, has said that there was no better time to diversify the Nigerian economy than now because the era of crude oil boom was over.
According to him, crude oil can never rise above $100 a barrel anymore as was the case few years ago.
Speaking as a guest lecturer at the first convocation ceremony of Edo University, Iyamho, Edo State, last Friday, Emefiele said: “oil price can never get to above $100 per barrel in our lifetime.
“So, we must just diversify our economy now. We must embrace agriculture and grow the manufacturing sector. It’ll create jobs and generate money into our bank accounts. No more oil”.
Emefiele who delivered the convocation lecture titled: “The Role of Monetary Policy: Towards Economic Growth in Nigeria,” also said there was no apologies for the shut land borders because different countries work with diverse economic policies that suit them.
He said despite criticisms from certain quarters over the apex bank’s monetary policies, the country has remained better for actions it has taken.
“Our unorthodox and unconventional monetary policy is yielding results. We’re not deterred. We can’t allow people to smuggle and dump goods here and kill our local producers. We owe no one any apologies as long as we’re creating jobs and growing the economy.
“For an economy like ours, which is yet to attain its full potential, utilitarian welfare maximization requires a functional consideration for real growth. Thus, growth objectives cannot be overlooked.
“The CBN Act 2007, in recognizing this, provided the Bank with the legal backing to undertake developmental functions that are consistent with price stability. This has enabled the bank to simultaneously promote the development of financial markets and stimulate the growth of the real sector,” he explained.
The CBN Governor, however, lamented that Nigeria’s overdependence on crude oil for over 60 per cent of fiscal revenue and over 90 percent of forex inflows, meant that shocks in the oil market were transmitted entirely to the economy via the forex markets as manufacturers and traders who required forex for input purchases were faced with dwindling supplies.
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.
