Business
PH Residents Hail PHED Over Improved Power
Following the improved power situation in some parts of the city of Port Harcourt, residents have commended the Port-Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company, (PHED) as they urged them to continue to sustain power supply in Rivers state.
In the last six months, most areas in the state capital have been without power thereby crippling business activities in the state dispite payment of electricity bills to the distribution company, PHED.
A cross section of electricity customers who spoke to The Tide on Wednesday, expressed their happiness over the improved power supply.
Those who spoke on radio and telephone calls indicated that power supply has gradually improved in Rivers State and as such would want it sustained to increase and develop business activities in the state.
One Christoper Nna confirmed to The Tide that power has improved in Diobu, Agip, Egbuoshimini, D/Line and Rumuigbo.
According to him, power supply has gradually been improving in many parts of the state.
The residents who expressed their happiness in a local radio stations in the city, said that power supply has also improved significantly in places in Agip area, NTA Road and Ada George Road.
Mr. Klem Nkem Ofuokwu, a media consultant and resident of Obi Wali Road, wrote on his Facebook wall, “I don’t know where it comes from or who did what. But one thing I can tell is that electricity has climbed to between 20 and 22 hours daily in my neighborhood and it is over three weeks now”.
Benjamin Lawson, another Facebook user wrote, “My brother, wonders will never cease to happen. I thought I was the only one experiencing the improved power.
He said further, “When night becomes day according to African maxim, it is to the glaring sight of all”.
Ofiebor Okafor, who resides at Rumuodaoma said, “We have joined those enjoying light for about 16 hours in a day for the past three days now.”
My brother, did the guys who switch us off go on transfer? Thanks all the same.”
Dr. Ayo Ayeloja, a lecturer at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Port-Harcourt, said, “I must be honest with you that the power supply has improved around the campus, please keep it up.”
Similarly, Mr. Femi Eniola who resides at Trans-Amadi, Port-Harcourt, said that power supply within his area has attained 24 hours a day in recent months.
When contacted the Corporate Communications Manager, PHED, Mr. Jonah Iboma, stated that the improvement in electricity supply was due to the concerted efforts at getting power plants to work and also the effective collaboration with other stakeholders.
Iboma noted that the power distribution company has a special programme aimed at improving power supply to their customers, adding that this is being achieved through supply from the national grid.
“We have a special programme aimed at improving power supply to our customers and this is being achieved through supply from the national power grid and other sources embedded. The challenges pertaining to power generation plants which have been a major issue over the past months have been fixed, while clearing of fault lines is now quickly addressed”, he said.
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.
