Business
Stakeholders Decry Poor Infrastructure At Iriebe Estate
Stakeholders and allotees of the Iriebe housing estate in Obio/Akpor local government area of Rivers State have decried the non availability of basic infrastructure needed at the estate.
Some of the stakeholders who lamented over the non provision of such basic amenities like road, electricity and water among others, opined that it is an unfortunate thing that such facilities have not been provided up till now.
In his reaction, the former permanent secretary in the ministry of housing, Rivers State, Chief N. Ihunwo stated that it is a surprising thing to him that even access roads at the estate have not be done, not to talk about other facilities.Chief Ihunwo regretted the suffering and hardship occupants of the estate will face for non provision of such facilities and urged the authorities concerned to expedite action on provision of such infrastructure.
On his part, a business operator in Port Harcourt, who does not want his name in print and a stakeholder in the estate also expressed dissatisfaction over what he termed as abandonment that is uncalled for”, saying that such infrastructure are basic and ought to be provided before allocation of house in November 2010.
He said it is the duty of the government to provide such facilities in question, because the estate belongs to the state government.
Responding to the issue of infrastructural provision at the estate when The Tide visited his office, the General Manager of Rivers State Housing and Property Development Authority (RSHPDA) Architect .I.S Cookey Gam said his organisation lack the fund to provide such infrastructure, but hoped that the state government will tackle the matter shortly.
It would be recalled that RSHPDA late 2010 alloted houses to beneficiaries.
Corlins Walter
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.