Business
Community Lauds Illegal Markets Demolition In PH
The Rumuwoji Community
has commended the vision of the Rivers State Government through the Ministry of Urban Development to restructure the state capital and numerous efforts to stop streets trading in the state capital.
In a press statement signed by the Secretary of the Community, Ikechi Nwankwo Wigodo on Saturday commended the political will of the present administration in stopping street trading in Port Harcourt and other cities of Port Harcourt.
Wigodo in the statement noted that the demolition of Afikpo/Ikwerre Road street trading was a welcomed development, stressing that the traders have no course to blame the government because the Ministry of Urban Development and Physical Planning has severally warned and cautioned the traders on dangers of street trading.
According to him, “An alternative place was provided for the traders at Njemenze/Silverbird Cinema area, pending the completion of the second phase of the Rumuwoji Market but the traders refused to relocate and decided to trade on the street and obstruct traffic.
The Community leader explained that the call by the women who involve in the illegal trading at Afikpo/Ikwerre Road street trading is uncalled for because there is a place already made available for them to engage in their business activities.
“Since the traders were chased out, the traffic along Afikpo and Ikwerre have stop. We commended the ministry for its efforts. We also called the ministry to deploy its guide to always check the activities of the traders who usually reappear after closure of work and block the road and caused traffic. We also notice that on Saturdays and Sundays, these traders still operate their illegal activities”, he said.
He also debunked the statement by the traders that a day notice was given to the traders, stating that since February, the ministry has been on the streets and Motor parks on advocacy and awareness campaign against streets trading, but regretted that all these did not yield any consequence on the people and traders.
Wigodo regretted that those who involve in the street trading are non Rivers peoples who are interested to distort the city plan, adding that some parts of the Ikwerre road is flooded during rain because these traders block the drain with solid waste during and after their activities.
He urged the displaced traders to relocate to the designated place meant for trading and stop distorting the city of Port Harcourt, adding that the community is solidly behind the government and the ministry of Urban Development and Physcial Planning in its drive to restore and sustain the cleaningness of Port Harcourt.
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.
