Business
Rescued Dana Airline Resumes Operations
The Dana airline that was rescued from almost getting burnt from the tyres, while trying to take off last Monday at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, has resumed flight operations at the airport.
Port Harcourt Station Manager of the airline, Francis Ofangba, who disclosed this to The Tide last Friday, explained that the issue was a minor one, contrary to what was speculated from many quarters.
In his explanation, he said the pilot in the process of trying to take-off, observed from the system, the presence of an image of another flight on the direction of his take-off, for which he communicated the control tower.
According to the Station Manager, the sudden appearance of the image forced the pilot to hold sudden break to avert any crash, noting that the sudden action affected the tyres.
“The tyres became very hot, and, with the pressure, got flattened, and, as the pilot tried to taxi out of the runway, they became very red-hot with pressure on them.
“I was right there at the scene, and fire extinguisher was brought immediately and was used to prevent any fire outbreak.
“The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) officials and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) were on ground to assess the incident. They confirmed it was a minor issue, except that the tyres were damaged”, he said.
The aviation expert also explained that the true picture of the incident was that the pilot was trying to do everything at his disposal to avert any kind of collision which incidentally affected the tyres.
Ofangba, however, expressed joy that the incident did not get beyond the tyres, and that the break pad, and tyres adequately replaced.
It would be recalled that one of the Dana flights at the Port Harcourt airport last Monday was rescued from fire incident ignited from the tyres, with 56 passengers on board, while trying to take off.
By: 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.