Bolaji Idowu
The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has released the 2025 Subnational Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) Report, with Lagos State emerging as the best-performing state, scoring 85.6 per cent.
As reported by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday, Kaduna State ranked second with 65.1 per cent, while Oyo, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Ogun States completed the top five with scores of 62.7 per cent, 61.0 per cent and 59.9 per cent, respectively.
Enugu and Plateau tied for sixth position with 56.2 per cent each, followed by Ekiti (55.8 per cent), Kano (54.8 per cent) and Nasarawa (53.4 per cent), completing the top 10.
PEBEC is a Federal Government agency dedicated to simplifying business operations in Nigeria through regulatory reforms and policy enhancements.
Unveiling the report, the Director-General of PEBEC, Mrs Zahrah Mustapha-Audu, said the 2025 EoDB Report is a comprehensive, data-driven assessment of how Nigeria’s 36 states and the FCT are strengthening business competitiveness through regulation, infrastructure and administrative efficiency.
The report evaluates performance across 16 indicators and 36 sub-metrics, covering electricity supply, infrastructure, digital connectivity, land administration, taxation, trade logistics, justice delivery, investor support and skilled labour readiness.
According to her, the leading states distinguished themselves through consistent reform momentum, improved digital processes and more predictable regulatory environments.
She added that the 2025 report also identified five priority interventions for immediate state-level implementation. These include:
Establishing investor aftercare systems
Strengthening MSME credit enablement
Harmonising interstate trade rules
Upgrading commercial justice processes
Improving power reliability for industrial clusters
Mrs Mustapha-Audu said PEBEC would continue to support state-led reform adoption, particularly under the $750 million State Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER) Programme.
She noted that the 2025 Subnational EoDB Report “provides a critical foundation for policy action, investment decisions and long-term competitiveness across Nigeria,” adding that the full report is available for download at www.pebec.gov.ng/reports.
NAN also reported that PEBEC earlier released its 2025 Business Facilitation Act (BFA) Performance Report, covering the performance of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) from January to October 2025.
The performance report assesses 69 priority MDAs using monthly compliance submissions, mystery shopping, website audits, ReportGov analytics and targeted verification exercises.
According to the report, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board topped the ranking with 90.6 per cent, followed by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (89.0 per cent). The Nigeria Customs Service ranked third with 86.6 per cent, while the Nigerian Communications Commission and the Nigerian Ports Authority placed fourth and fifth with 85.3 per cent and 84.2 per cent, respectively.
PEBEC, which is currently chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, was established in July 2016 by the Federal Government to remove bureaucratic and legislative constraints to doing business and improve Nigeria’s global business environment perception.