Business
NNPC To Seal Off Filling Stations If… – Ajuonoma
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says any filling station indulged in sharp practices or deliberately refuse to sell fuel in large quantity in order to create artificial scarcity, stands the risk of being sealed off.
NNPC Group Public Relations Manager, Dr Levi Ajuonoma sounded this warning when officials of the corporation visited Kano State to assess the fuel situation in the state.
Ajuonoma was critical of managers of some filling stations in Kano for indulging in sharp practices which have inflicted hardship on motorists in the area.
He described as unacceptable the action of some filling stations to deny customers access to petroleum products.
The NNPC, as a responsible agency will not allow such practice to flourish,” he said, and warned that the Department of Petroleum Resources would sea off erring filling stations.
Ajuonoma said the supply situation nationwide is robust and wondered why customers in Kano should panic and waste their time queuing up to buy petrol.
He noted the improved fuel situation in the commercial city, adding that the long queues that were noticeable some weeks ago had disappeared.
The NNPC spokesman assured Nigerians of steady fuel supply during the forthcoming Sallah and Christmas celebrations which would be celebrated in November and December respectively.
The fuel situation in Kano State last week worsened resulting in long queues noticed in the few filling stations that were selling the commodity.
In related development, residents of Eket in Akwa Ibom have cried out over scarcity of kerosene in the town. A litre of kerosene now sells for between N200 and N250 from N80 it was sold in the black market before the scarcity.
Some of the residents who spoke with newsmen in Eket said they were disturbed by the development because a substitute to kerosene was not easily available in Eket except in the neigbouring villages.
“We expect the government to step in and ensure that kerosene becomes available to discourage the use of firewood”, Udeme Ifak, a housewife said.
Sanimgo Etukakpan, a community leader, accused fuel station operators of profiteering and exploiting the helpless masses. He also accused the NNPC for being insincere to the plight of fuel users saying that the scarcity of kerosene has affected the prices, of food in most restaurants in the area.
Ijeoma Ike
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.
