Nigeria’s telecommunications industry recorded one of its sharpest corrections in recent years, with active voice subscriptions falling by 59.7 million in 2024 following the strict enforcement of the National Identification Number–Subscriber Identity Module policy, the Nigerian Communications Commission said in its 2024 Subscriber/Network Performance Report.

The active subscriber base dropped from 224.7 million in 2023 to 164.9 million by December 2024, marking a 26.6 per cent year-on-year decline.

The telecom regulator said the significant fall was driven by the removal of SIMs not linked to verifiable NINs and the rectification of a long-standing subscriber-count discrepancy by a major mobile network operator.

The clean-up followed the Federal Government’s multi-year drive to link all SIM cards to valid NINs, a policy launched on 4 February 2020 and jointly enforced by the NCC and the National Identity Management Commission. After several deadline extensions between 2023 and 2024, authorities set a final cut-off date of 14 September 2024. From 15 September, any SIM without a verified NIN was automatically deactivated.

The government introduced the linkage primarily to curb the criminal use of anonymous SIM cards, strengthen national security, and create a more reliable national identity database. The policy is also expected to improve service delivery, expand financial inclusion and support digital payment systems across the economy.

In September, President Bola Tinubu announced that more than 126 million Nigerians had been enrolled in the National Identity Database, as the Federal Government expanded the system’s capacity from 100 million to 250 million records to ensure universal coverage and eliminate bottlenecks across the enrolment process.

Further, the report stated that teledensity mirrored the scale of the clean-up, falling from 103.66 per cent in 2023 to 76.08 per cent in 2024. Internet subscriptions also declined, dropping from 163.8 million to 139.3 million, a loss of 24.6 million users, representing a 14.98 per cent contraction during the period under review.

Despite the reduction in subscriber numbers, the regulator reported continued progress in coverage expansion. Nigeria achieved over 95 per cent cellular coverage, while broadband penetration rose marginally from 43.71 per cent to 44.43 per cent, supported by widespread access to 3G (89 per cent), 4G (84 per cent) and 5G (13 per cent) networks.

However, fresh NCC industry data show that the sector has begun to stabilise and recover. Active telephone subscriptions rose to 173.54 million in September 2025, up from 171.57 million in August, reflecting continued market adjustment after the 2024 clean-up.

Internet subscriptions on GSM networks also increased slightly to 140.36 million, while teledensity improved to 80.05 per cent, signalling renewed momentum in user growth and network activity.

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Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and ex-Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose, on Monday renewed their old enmity, with Fayose raining insults on the 89-year-old ex-president, whom he declared “belongs in the zoo”.

The feud between the duo dates back to the beginning of the Fourth Republic, when Obasanjo was president and Fayose was governor in Ekiti State.

Obasanjo had sent the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission after Fayose over a poultry project embarked upon by Fayose, which Obasanjo declared was fraught with corruption.

The relationship between them has been frosty over the years, with Fayose seizing any chance to lash out at Obasanjo, alleging his Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Ogun State is a product of corruption.

Fayose repeatedly demanded that Obasanjo return his N10m contribution to the building of the library.

However, in a dramatic twist, ahead of his 65th birthday last week, Fayose had visited Obasanjo in his Ogun home and invited the ex-president to the birthday.

At the birthday party in Lagos, however, Obasanjo, who was the Special Guest of Honour, recounted how  Fayose had abused him severally in the past without batting an eyelid.

He explained that despite asking for forgiveness from him several times, Fayose would still go ahead to abuse him in a display of arrogance.

The former President said he was surprised that Fayose would be bold enough to invite him to the birthday.

Addressing the gathering,  Obasanjo said, ”Some people called me and said that we heard that you are going to attend Fayose’s 65th birthday, have you forgotten how he abused you? But I said that they should not worry, irrespective of his character, he remains one of my children. The Yoruba will say ‘Won kii le omo buburu f’ekun paje’, meaning that you won’t say your child is bad and offer him to a tiger to devour.

“But you are not the best of my political children, you’re not, but you have made achievements that must not be ignored.”

Obasanjo said, haunted by his past acts, Fayose could not, at first, directly approach him to invite him to his birthday, but instead sent  a former minister, Osita Chidoka, “to come and sound me out.”

“You could not come to me directly because you knew that you had not done so well by me,” Obasanjo said, “‘Bi iwo ba se rere, ara ki o a ya o’. So, I told Osita to tell you that he had delivered the message you sent him to me. You later phoned me and I said that you could come to see me at any time.

“Even at that, you could not come directly to knock at my door; you took precautions, you sent Foluso ahead of you, who came before you, to gauge my feelings and pulse, after which you arrived about an hour later.

“When you came to me, you called your wife, and while on the phone with your wife, I said that the two of you have not done well. Mo ni eyin meejeji kii s’omoluwabi; and your wife completely disarmed me.

“She said, ‘Yes, Baba, you are right, please forgive us,’ and what else can I do? You have asked for forgiveness, and I have forgiven you, but the right lesson must be learned.”

Obasanjo then launched into his past relationship and feud with Fayose.

Quoting Romans 12 vs 15, Obasanjo said the Bible enjoins Christians to “mourn with those who are mourning, while we should also rejoice with those rejoicing.”

He said, “Like I said, that we are here to thank God for his mercy and faithfulness, you must always understand that you’re who you are and where you are by the special grace of God, and so you must always give praise to him.

“I also said that we are here for stock taking, part of what you yourself have said. I knew you, and I was with you because of the initiative you took to give water to the people of Ekiti State at that time; you will remember this vividly. It was this initiative that set you apart and made me fall in love with you.

“I didn’t know you from anywhere before that time; it was S. K. Babalola that I knew and was going to support for the 2003 governorship because of his track record with the Nigerian Union of Teachers.

“However, I later pitched a tent with you and dumped Babalola, who, in any case, was also not a member of our party, PDP, then. You remember that we were at Efon Alaye to campaign, and one of their challenges there was erosion, which we promised to fix, and we fulfilled our promise.

“Ayo, there is a difference between being courageous, being bold and being foolhardy. Courage, boldness and foolhardiness do not go together.

“There is also the virtue of humility, which goes with humility. Humility is one of the virtues that mark out our character in Nigeria, particularly the people of Yoruba land. Integrity is also another virtue. We had a campaign and, by the grace of God, you won the election.

“And when you won, you wanted to do a lot of good things. One of those things was to help the farmers. When you came to me, I said that if you wanted to help the farmers, one of the things you could do is to either subsidise the chicks or the feeds and not that, as a government, you will say you are establishing a poultry farm.

“I said that Gomboro could come, and within the time the memo to buy this and that was still going from the table of one government official to another, the disease would have cleared all the chicks. And you will remember this story, I came to your farm and I saw the chicks that were about two weeks old with their shavings very neat and asked, ‘Ayo, se awon adiye tiyin ki yagbe ni’  (Don’t your own type of chicks excrete?).

“And your brother, Oyinlola, the then governor of Osun State, was telling you right there, ‘I told you that if he (Obasanjo) doesn’t know anything, he knows about poultry’.

“You also remember that, before this issue about poultry, some came to say that you did not go to Olivet Baptist School, Oyo, but I knew that you went to the school and finished there. We can see those who were your mates and those who were your seniors, so that is unlike some people, who we really don’t know the school that they attended.

“If you remember, you and your wife came to me at Oyinlola’s house and begged for forgiveness for all that you had said to me, and I said that I had forgiven you, but you never stopped. You also came to my house and apologised. I said that I had forgiven you, but you still didn’t stop.

“Ayo, I did not ask you to contribute to my library, or did I? The governors decided, and you joined them. I never begged you for money for anything except when you came last week, on Tuesday.

“I told you that since you will make me abort my trip from Kigali, Rwanda and come back on Saturday when I was supposed to be back on Sunday, you would be the one to pay for that because I can’t be using my retirement money for such.

“But if it will be of interest to you, it was Alhaji Aliko Dangote who sent the plane that brought me back to the country. So, the money you sent through Foluso is still with me. I have kept everything intact.

“Obviously, part of why you have called me to this occasion is to make things right with those whom you might have offended. I also want to urge you to still think about those people you have offended and call them for a truce. Forgiveness and repentance are quite important.

“You must repent from all misconduct because we must begin to prepare for heaven, because no one will escape the judgment of God. Please join me in singing this song, ‘Ope mi ko i to, ojojumo ni o ma dupe…’”

Clearly angered by Obasanjo’s remarks, Fayose, on Monday, sent the ex-president a “Thank You” text message, filled with insults.

The insulting text message was shared with newsmen by Obasanjo’s  Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi.

In the message, Fayose said that though he appreciated the fact that Obasanjo attended his 65th birthday, he was surprised by the ex-president’s  “irresponsible comments”.

He stated that he initially decided not to say anything during the occasion so that “the whole world will know the difference between a sane man and a mad man”.

Fayose also urged the former president to quickly return the money that he had sent to him to facilitate his coming to the birthday ceremony.

The ‘Thank You’ note read:  “Dear Baba Obasanjo, I trust this finds you well. You’re coming to my birthday party, and I appreciate it, except for your very irresponsible comments at your age.

“You went so low, but I am not surprised because someone once said you are supposed to be kept away in the zoo. Sincerely, that’s where you belong.

“I kept quiet or did not reply to you at the function so that the world will know the difference between a sane and a mad man that you are. It is also obvious that you have also lost your sanity, or should I say it’s the heightened stage of dementia.

“Not to worry, Baba, I shall set the records straight in due course of time. Lastly, I shall appreciate it if you return my money since you publicly admitted you received it, but Dangote brought you back.  Your leopard will never change its skin.”

According to Obasanjo’s aide, after receiving the message, the octogenarian ex-president swiftly replied that he had returned Fayose’s cash.

“Ayo, thanks for your ‘Thank You’ message, which undisguisedly revealed who and what you are, unchanged and unchangeable.

“Your money has been sent back through Foluso Adeagbo, who brought it and in the same bag as he brought it, unopened by me.”

Fayose, first elected governor in 2003 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, initially enjoyed the support of Obasanjo, who was then President.

However, their relationship later deteriorated amid allegations of mismanagement and political disloyalty.

By 2006, tensions had escalated after a panel set up by the EFCC indicted Fayose for alleged financial misconduct.

In October of that year, the Ekiti State House of Assembly impeached Fayose and his deputy, Biodun Olujimi, a development that triggered a breakdown of law and order and compelled Obasanjo to declare a state of emergency in the state.

Fayose later accused Obasanjo of orchestrating his removal, while Obasanjo maintained that due process had been followed.

The former governor also accused the former president of defrauding the governors at the time to build the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library.

Their strained relationship persisted for years, marked by periodic exchanges and political criticisms.

To mark his 65th birthday, Fayose visited Obasanjo in Abeokuta and invited him to the celebration.

The former President, who attended alongside Vice President Kashim Shettima, Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, former Senate President Bukola Saraki and others, publicly rebuked Fayose and declared that he had forgiven him for past grievances.