EXPOSED: Tinubu Allies Allegedly Move to Hijack Nigeria’s N400bn Airtime Lending Market

Associates and close allies of President Bola Tinubu are reportedly orchestrating a bid to dominate Nigeria’s airtime and data credit lending sector, an industry estimated to be worth around ₦400 billion annually.

The development was made known by investigative journalist David Hundeyin in a post on X.

It should be recalled that the popular airtime and data credit services such as MTN XtraTime, Airtel Advance, and similar emergency offerings have been immersed in regulatory battles in recent months. These services have long allowed tens of millions of Nigerians to borrow small amounts of airtime or data and repay upon their next recharge.

However, in July 2025, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) introduced the Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations (DEON Regulations). The rules classify airtime and data credit as traditional lending, requiring strict licensing, consumer protections, explicit interest rate disclosures, and rigid compliance frameworks.

Following the policy’s introduction, major telecom operators suspended the lending services, citing compliance challenges.

This move led to the suspension of such services across the country. In reaction to the outcry by Nigerians against the development, the FCCPC said that it did not outright ban the services but was instead enforcing compliance following a deluge of consumer complaints regarding hidden charges and aggressive recovery practices. While temporarily suspending enforcement of certain parts of the regulations amid ongoing litigation, the commission has already approved several new lending entities.

In his revelation, Hundeyin named Idris Saliu Alubankudi, Special Adviser to the President on Technology and Digital Economy, and his brother Shamsudeen “Shamz” Saliu Alubankudi as the key figures allegedly building a major enterprise to take over the vacuum in the telecom and ICT space over the past three years.

Hundeyin, who says he has followed the issue for over two years, described their activities as a calculated attempt at aggressive state capture, drawing a direct parallel to the tactical manoeuvres used by post-Soviet oligarchs to hijack key national industries.

Hundeyin claimed that the Alubankudi brothers, whom he described as being very close to Tinubu and his family, are strategically positioning themselves to control a systemically vital artery of the Nigerian economy.

“You will be hearing the names ‘Idris’ and ‘Shamz’ a lot in the coming days,” Hundeyin wrote, urging the public to pay close attention to the family name “Saliu Alubankudi.”

Critics of the administration have drawn comparisons between this move and previous ones seen under the current government, pointing to how business empires like the Chagoury Group have been positioned to capture and dominate critical, highly lucrative sectors of the country’s economy.