The latest telecommunications data issued by the National Bureau of Statistics shows that three states, Lagos, Ogun, and Kano, accounted for 23% of the country’s total active mobile subscriptions in Q1 2024.
According to the NBS, total active mobile subscriptions in Nigeria at the end of the first quarter were 219.3 million, a 3.3% decrease from the 226.1 million reported in Q1 2023.
The three states ranked top three in terms of mobile subscriptions, with a total of 50.5 million active cell lines.
The data showed that Lagos, known as the country’s commercial nerve center, retained its lead with 25.9 million active subscriptions, followed by Ogun, which had 12.6 million subscriptions at the end of Q1 2024. Kano ranked third, with 11.9 million active subscribers.
In contrast, Bayelsa had the lowest mobile subscriptions, with 1.6 million, followed by Ebonyi and Ekiti, with 1.8 million and 1.9 million respectively.
In terms of internet connections, Lagos State continued to lead with the most active internet customers in Q1 2024 (18.8 million), followed by Ogun (9.5 million) and Kano (9 million).
Bayelsa recorded the least internet connections with 1.2 million, followed by Ebonyi and Ekiti with 1.4 million and 1.5 respectively.
Stakeholders in the telecom industry have blamed the lopsided distribution of mobile access in favor of cosmopolitan states on poor infrastructure.
The Nigerian Communications Commission recently revealed that over 40 million people continue to be denied access to telecommunications services due to over 200 access gaps identified in the Information and Communication Technology industry.
