Which Cities Are Nigeria's Most Important Economically?

this would make for interesting and well-informed debate,not the type that nigeria1 brings to the table which stinks of tribalism. my humble opinion is 1.lag, 2.port-harcourt, 3.abuja, 4.ibadan, 5. kaduna. i think warri,aba and maybe kano are good to go but nah

It depends on if you are asking the question in terms of trade or culture. If it is based on trade, Aba should be higher up the list, certainly ahead of Ibadan and Kaduna.

1. lagos

2.abuja

3.kaduna

4.ph

5.kano

agree with ibime,kd aint better than ph, kano can't beat ibd to the list,too many non active people there economically,almajiris and non active females due to religious and cultural factors.

Below is an effort at ranking Nigeria's major towns based on some yardsticks. it's just an opinion based on knowledge of activities in Nigeria and peculiarities of these cities:

Economy-wise:(Defined by totality of corporate, commercial, and industrial activities)
1, Lagos- Corporate capital of Nigeria.Head Offices of virtually all the companies that matter are in Lagos.
2, Port Harcourt- The Oil capital of Nigeria.
3, Kano- Arguably No 1 commercial city in Nigeria, but commerce is just a fragment of economy
4, Abuja- The political capital of course, but can't stand Lagos, PH or Kano in terms of economic activities. Regulatory agencies that control the economy(CBN etc) are there
5, Kaduna-Another hub of economic activities. Lagos of the North
6, Ibadan- Hub of grassroot, informal economic activities
7, Warri- If Warri is bombed today, it will tell on the world economy via crude oil prices.

Commerce-wise:(Defined by no and size of markets, volume of trading activities etc)
1, Kano: Commerce is another name for Kano
2, Ibadan:Commercial capital of the South(East and West). Trading activities, especially, informal activities, boom here.Millions of market women
3, Lagos: Many markets, formal and informal
4, Onitsha: The 'Dubai' of Ibo-made products. Has one of the largest markets in West africa
5, Kaduna: Also has one of the largest markets in west Africa
6, Aba: Made in Aba! You get me, ?
7, Port Harcourt: A good place to tap some money from the OIL MILLIONAIRES!

Industrial-wise:
1, Lagos: Highly industralized
2, Port Harcourt: Refinery plus other oil-related industries
3, Warri: Ditto
4, Otta: Home of Medium sized industries
5, Kaduna: Refinery plus other industries
6, Kano: Many indigenous plants are here
7, Ibadan:Oluyole industrial estate. Not doing badly

Political-wise:
1, Abuja- The official political capital of Nigeria
2, Ibadan- The political capital of old Western Nigeria and today's S/West. Ibadan politics matters in the country
3, Lagos- More of an economic city than political, but more than a decade after FCT was moved to Abuja, Lagos is still
4, Kaduna- The political h/quarters of the North, politically speaking.Capital of old Northern Nigeria.Till today critical political meetings still hold here. Power-broking city      
5, Kano- The religious capital of the North(apology to Sokoto). And in the North, politics and religion are intertwined. So
6, Enugu- The capital of the old Eastern Nigeria. Still powerful in political dealings today.
7, Ilorin- Another force to reckon with, politically speaking

whole town being a market does not affect people's spending power positively or negatively,check out,if u run a telecoms company which town would u pop first,aba,onitsha,kano or ibadan? u know ibadan tops it,ask glo,multilinks,starcomms,mtn and co.

I reason with your comment. I have not been to both places but I need not go there before I know what's going on there.

However in this case, having been in both places, your argument seems strong. If I can find two other persons that have been to both places to corroborate this, I'll update my list for it i.e put Aba ahead of Onitsha. As regards Ibadan however, I can't put any of those two above Ibadan.