Business
RVHA Lauds Gov Amaechi Endorses PHC Waterfronts Demolition
The Rivers State House of Assembly yesterday passed a vote of confidence on the State Governor, Rt Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and his Executive Council for pursuing people-oriented programmes and projects within the past two years.
The vote followed contribution by Hon Anthony Okeah (Obio/Akpor) during an interactive session between Governor Amaechi and the House as part of weeklong programme to mark the state governor’s two years in office as chief executive.
Hon Okeah had in his contribution noted that governor Amaechi had transformed the state to a higher level, adding that the state could compete favourably among other developing states in the country.
According to him, the state governor has provided basic infrastructure in virtually the 23 local government areas of the state particularly, Port Harcourt and its environs and urged his colleagues to publicly acclaim the governor’s commendable record of selfless service.
Apparently overwhelmed by the kind sentiments expressed, House Leader, Hon Chidi Lloyd moved a formal motion to that effect in accordance with House rules.
Hon Lloyd said that Governor Amaechi-led Executive Council has done well for the development of the state and deserved to be applauded and pampered with an award by the House. His motion was supported by Hon Hope Ikiriko (Awelga) and in the absence of any counter the House awaited ruling by the Speaker.
In his ruling, the Speaker, Rt Hon Tonye Harry, who presided over the special session described the state governor as a graduate of the legislature and thanked his colleagues for exhibiting such amiable conduct during the session.
Rt Hon Harry stated that Governor Amaechi had within the two years in office institution a rebirth in the governance of the state as well as introduced a re-orientation in the civil service assuring that the state legislature would continue to give the executive arm the well-deserved support for the benefit of the state.
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.