Business
‘Distribute Pre-paid Meters To Electricity Customers’
The Nasarawa State Government has called on the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) to distribute pre-paid meters to all electricity customers in the state.
The State’s Deputy Governor, Mr Silas Agara, made the call at a Town Hall meeting organised by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) in Lafia, Saturday.
Agara, represented by the Commissioner for Works and Transport, Mr. Mohammed Wada, said that customers were short-changed through overbilling, estimated billing, among others.
“The only way the customers will be satisfied is when they have pre-paid meters and sure that they only pay for electricity consumed.
“The state government has donated land and offered to facilitate the installation of a 3000 KVA transformer in Lafia.
“If the transformer is installed, it will go a long way in addressing the poor electricity supply in the state,’’ he said.
Also, the NERC Commissioner in charge of Consumers Affairs, Moses Arigu, assured electricity consumers of the commission’s determination to ensure that distribution companies adhere to the operational guidelines.
“The commission has concluded plans to open an office in Lafia for the consumers to channel their complaints for redress,’’ he said.
In his remarks, Christian Chime, the Acting Regional Manager of AEDC, apologised to electricity customers, for the problems they were going through due to poor electricity supply.
Chime said that the company had complaints for redress,’’ he said.
In his remarks, the Acting Regional Manager of AEDC, Christian Chime, apologised to electricity customers, for the problems they were going through due to poor electricity supply.
Chime said that the company had taken their complaints and would soon address them to ensure improved electricty supply.
He said that the company would embark on massive installation of pre-paid meters in the state, urging the customers not to pay for its installation.
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.
