The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has released two major competitiveness scorecards—the 2025 Subnational Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) Report and the 2025 Business Facilitation Act (BFA) Performance Report—offering the clearest picture yet of how states and federal agencies are shaping Nigeria’s business climate in 2025.

Unveiled by PEBEC Director-General, Princess Zahrah Mustapha Audu, the reports capture reform efforts across the 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and 69 priority Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).

Together, they provide investors, policymakers, and analysts with a consolidated view of regulatory efficiency, infrastructure readiness, and service delivery standards nationwide.

According to the 2025 Subnational EoDB Report, Lagos State emerged as Nigeria’s most competitive business environment, scoring 85.6 per cent—a performance driven by reforms in land administration, taxation, digital processes, trade logistics, and investor support services. Kaduna State, ranking second with 65.1 per cent, showed strong gains in administrative efficiency and regulatory predictability.

Oyo (62.7 per cent), the FCT (61.0 per cent), and Ogun (59.9 per cent) completed the top five, while Enugu, Plateau, Ekiti, Kano, and Nasarawa secured positions in the top 10. PEBEC attributed their strong showings to sustained reform execution, improved infrastructure planning, and wider adoption of technology-enabled government services.

The report evaluated states across 16 indicators and 36 sub-metrics, covering electricity reliability, skilled labour availability, commercial justice delivery, digital connectivity, taxation, and MSME support. PEBEC noted that the 2025 edition introduces a deeper layer of data-driven benchmarking, enabling states to better identify reform gaps and track progress against peers.

To fast-track improvements, PEBEC recommended five priority interventions for immediate adoption by states: Establishing investor aftercare systems, Strengthening MSME credit enablement frameworks, Harmonising interstate trade regulations to ease logistics bottlenecks, Upgrading commercial justice systems for quicker dispute resolution, Improving power reliability, especially for industrial clusters and SMEs

These interventions, according to PEBEC, are aligned with the ongoing $750 million State Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER) Programme, which incentivises measurable progress across the federation.

Complementing the state-level assessment, PEBEC also published the 2025 Business Facilitation Act (BFA) Performance Report, which evaluates MDA compliance with statutory requirements on transparency, digital process optimisation, and predictable service timelines.

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) topped the federal ranking with a score of 90.6 per cent, recognised for its strong responsiveness, simplified procedures, and adherence to statutory service standards. The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) followed with 89.3 per cent, while the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) placed third with 86.6 per cent, reflecting improvements in digital trade facilitation and more predictable cargo clearance operations.

Rounding out the top five were the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) with 85.3 per cent, and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) with 84.2 per cent.

The assessments draw on a mix of monthly compliance submissions, mystery shopper evaluations, website audits, ReportGov analytics, and process-verification exercises to track real-time service delivery.

Princess Audu urged both states and MDAs to see the reports not merely as scorecards but as actionable reform blueprints.

“These assessments are tools to deepen transparency, strengthen competitiveness, and align Nigeria’s business environment with global standards,” she said. “MDAs and states must take ownership of the reforms to deliver reliable, technology-driven, business-facing services.”

Established in 2016 and chaired by the Vice President, H.E. Kashim Shettima, PEBEC continues to coordinate nationwide reforms to eliminate bureaucratic and legislative bottlenecks to doing business in Nigeria. (The Guardian)

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