Business
… Begins Physical Planning, Dev Law Amendment
The Rivers State Government says it will begin the process to amend the State Physical Planning and Development Law 2003, next month, to enhance effective physical development in the state.
Rivers State Commissioner for Urban Development, Mr Osima Ginah disclosed this, at an annual dinner organised by the state branch of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners’ in Port Harcourt.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr Samuel LongJohn, the commissioner said the amendment would ensure correction of all lapses in the law and ensure effective implementation of the state and local government levels.
Among other contentious provisions, the Rivers State Physical Planning and Development law 2003 which abrogated all existing laws on physical planning and development control and gave the responsibility to the state government through the newly created Urban Development Ministry, still provides for the existence of a Land and Survey Bureau that should be supervised by a Special Adviser.
The Commissioner expressed the state government’s readiness to partner with other stakeholders for effective execution of the physical development policies of government” the ministry is always ready to accommodate suggestions from professional bodies on how to make things work,” he said.
Delivering a lecture titled, “Inculcating the Physical Planning Culture in Rivers State, Nigeria, Challenges and Prospects,” Dr Victor Obinna of the University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt, observed that post colonial physical planning in Port Harcourt had not lived up to the standards set by the British.
He blamed lack of effective institutional framework for plan-making, lack of political will to enforce existing laws, little efforts to develop crucial technical skills and non-seriousness to development unambiguous standards and regulations for development control as factors that had worked the essential character and unique attributes that made Port Harcourt a Garden City.
Dr Obinna called for sustained funding to implement plans under the new development objectives of the state government, emphasizing on the need to properly define the role of planners in ministry of Urban Development vis-à-vis those in the Greater Port Harcourt City Development Authority.
In his address, the state chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, Mr Chris Ibeakuzie expressed the need for the Greater Port Harcourt City Development Authority to set out an agenda for implementing the new city plan.
Mr Ibeakuzie recounted the consequences of poor planning on economic growth and development which included social breakdown and exposure of urban population to health risks, emphasizing that a likeable city is informed on the degree to which its citizens engage in decision making on matters affecting their well-being.
Amieyeofori Ibim
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.
