Business
‘Allow 100% Private Sector Participation In Power Sector’
Some stakeholders has urged the Federal Government to allow private investors full operation of the power sector in order to boost effectiveness and enhance economic growth.
The stakeholders made the suggestion in separate interviews with newsmen in Lagos against the backdrop of the enormous challenges confronting the country’s power sector.
Chairman, Solatek Engineering Ltd, Mr Adekunle Sofunde, urged government to hands-off the operations of the power sector to private investors for more business competitive drive.
Shofunde said that such a decision would allow Nigeria’s power sector to compete favourably with other countries.
He said that government should only regulate and not be involved in running power operations, adding that the sector could perform better if solely managed by private sector.
According to him, it is disappointing that an economy of over 190 million generates less than 10,000mw and distributes even less.
“Continuous tinkering with the structure of power supply and distribution and close to 20 billion dollars expended since 1999 has only brought darkness, frustration and misery to Nigerians.
“Nigeria imports over 70 per cent of its petroleum products requirement, while electricity supply is inadequate at just about 4,000mw now.
“Over 20,000mw of power is generated daily from fossil-fired plants to meet up with electricity demand,’’ he said.
The expert urged government to embrace renewable energy to fill the gap created by this deficit, adding that power production and distribution in the country were far less than what was needed.
The Director-General, Textile Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Mr Kwajaffa Hamma, said business competitiveness could only be drven when the power sector is being 100 per cent managed by private investors.
He urged government to ensure that the power sector tariffs become competitive as obtained in other countries such as Egypt Ethiopia and South Africa.
“That is the only way to move the sector forward; we cannot export our products (energy) outside the countries because it’s not competitive.
“ Seventy five per cent of all generating output in Nigeria does not reach the intended end users.
“While the minimum capacity requirement for Nigeria is put at 50,000mw, we are currently producing less than 5,000mw.
“Eight in 10 Nigerians rely on the alternative source of the power supply as erratic power supply persists.
“Eighty-five per cent of Micro Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs) rely on power generators for electricity,’’ he said.
Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr Muda Yusuf, said “ power sector is critical to the development of the country.
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.
