Uber ended its ride-hailing operations in Nigeria and Uganda on Wednesday, walking away from one of its most prominent African markets after roughly a decade in the country.
The company confirmed the shutdown in a statement to the Lagos-based outlet Techeconomy, saying the decision followed “a thorough review” of its business priorities and investment focus across Africa. Riders in Nigeria began receiving in-app and email notices Wednesday afternoon informing them that service would end the same day.
“Uber remains deeply committed to Sub-Saharan Africa, where we continue to see robust growth and long-term opportunity,” said Lorraine Onduru, Uber’s head of communications for East and West Africa, adding that the withdrawal is limited to Nigeria and Uganda and does not extend to the rest of the continent.
What Uber Says — and Doesn’t
Uber was explicit on one point: this is not about Nigeria’s airport dispute. Asked directly whether the exit was tied to a monthslong standoff with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria over e-hailing access, the company said no, describing the decision as unrelated to “the recent FAAN directive concerning e-hailing operations at Nigerian airports.”
What the company did not offer is a number. Uber declined to say how many drivers, riders or employees in Nigeria are affected, saying only that it is “communicating directly and responsibly” with those impacted.
Given that Lagos alone is one of the busiest ride-hailing markets on the continent, that omission leaves the scale of the disruption — to livelihoods and to the broader e-hailing labor market — largely unquantified from Uber’s own account.
The Airport Backdrop
Even if Uber’s timeline is coincidental, it lands amid real turbulence. In late July, FAAN ordered Uber and Bolt to halt commercial pickups at its airports pending new licensing agreements, part of a long-running dispute over accountability and security inside terminal grounds — an argument that traces back to a similar standoff in 2019.
The suspension triggered passenger complaints over airport taxi fares reportedly reaching ₦55,000 to ₦70,000 for trips from Murtala Muhammed International Airport, and threats of a driver strike from the Amalgamated Union of App-based Transporters of Nigeria.
FAAN cleared Bolt to resume airport operations on August 27 after reaching what it called an “agreeable operational framework.” Uber was notably absent from that resolution — its airport status remained unsettled right up until this week’s exit announcement.
Whether that unresolved friction weighed on Uber’s broader Nigeria calculus is a question the company’s statement doesn’t address, and one worth pressing on.
Rider Data and Support
Uber said customer support will remain available for 21 days to handle outstanding queries, and that Uber for Business services in Nigeria are also being wound down. On data, the company said it will retain only what is legally required, apply existing security controls, and continue honoring lawful data requests — language that leaves specifics of retention timelines and deletion practices for individual riders to still pursue through Uber’s privacy channels.
A Pattern Across Africa
Nigeria is not Uber’s first African retreat this year. The company shut down in Tanzania in January, after regulators there capped its commission at 15 percent, down from Uber’s global standard of roughly 25 percent — a squeeze the company said made the market unsustainable.
Nigeria’s exit, unlike Tanzania’s, is not framed by Uber as a regulatory-pricing dispute, but the pattern of scaling back in markets with thin margins or unresolved friction with regulators is becoming familiar.
Uber’s competitor Bolt, which has invested more aggressively in motorcycle and tricycle services across African cities, is now positioned as the dominant international ride-hailing brand left standing in Nigeria — a status reinforced by its resolved airport agreement weeks before Uber’s exit.
What Comes Next
For Nigeria’s roughly decade-old e-hailing sector, the immediate questions are practical: how many of Uber’s drivers migrate to Bolt or homegrown alternatives like inDrive, whether fares shift in a less competitive market, and what happens to corporate accounts tied to Uber for Business.
Uber says it will continue investing elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa. Whether that investment eventually returns to Nigeria — Africa’s largest economy and one of its largest ride-hailing markets — is a question the company’s statement leaves open.
