Business
PH Electricity Consumers Hail DISCO
L-R: Special Adviser to the Minister of Information and Culture on Media, Mr Segun Adeyemi, the Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and Permanent Secretary, Mrs Ayotunde Adesugba, during the minister’s meeting with members of Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) in Abuja, yesterday
Electricity Consumers residing within Port Harcourt metropolis in Rivers State have for the first time given kudos to Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) for their improved power supply during the yuletide.
Some of the residents who spoke with our correspondent said PHEDC should maintain the tempo inorder to justify their tariff.
They noted that a situation where there was no light but a high cost of electricity bills were issued to consumers could be regarded as fraud and injustice, and commended their recent improvement.
The residents enjoined PHEDC to sustain the tempo and they (consumers) are prepared to fulfil their part of the bargain, stressing that with the improved power supply within the period, business flowed and other commercial and social life have been re-energised and life is coming back to the area.
According to them, the improved power supply would also ginger them to pay their electricity bills regularly as at when due, and thanked the management for their services within the period, urging them not to relent.
The consumers also appealed to the company to rescind their decision or plan to increase the electricity tariff, as it is not ripe for the Nigerian consumers.
They called for all hands to be deck to regularize electricity supply in the country as well as in Rivers State in order for the masses to enjoy the dividends of democracy.
Some of the consumers who spoke with our correspondent from different parts of Port Harcourt include Chief Jonah Alatoru, Mrs Florence Dappa-Briggs, Stonye Koko, Mr. Adelekun Abiodun, Magrette isong and Pastor Solomon Useni.
Collins Barasimeye
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.