Lagos, Kaduna, Oyo make top 10 ease of doing business list, Sanwo-Olu lauds ranking

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Lagos State and nine others have emerged as top performers in Nigeria’s 2025 Subnational Ease of Doing Business Report released by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC).

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The others are Kaduna, Oyo, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Ogun, Enugu, Plateau, Ekiti, Kano and Nasarawa.

The ranking was announced on 27 March at a roundtable with members of the diplomatic community and development partners in Abuja.

PEBEC said the report shows that states implementing reforms have recorded measurable improvements in the business environment, including up to a 40 per cent reduction in business registration timelines and over 30 per cent improvement in land administration efficiency.

It said there has also been notable progress in digital service delivery and dispute resolution.

According to a statement shared with PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday by the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said at the event that the ranking reflected deliberate efforts by his administration to attract and sustain investments,

“This is the result of deliberate efforts by our government to create a positive environment for local and foreign investments, not just to thrive but to ensure good returns. We will continue to push for more investments and make our state a truly business-friendly place,” he said.

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The Director-General of PEBEC, Zahrah Audu, said the outcome of the report demonstrates that sustained reforms across states are beginning to yield tangible results.

“These achievements are not abstract metrics; they are signals to investors that Nigeria is becoming more predictable, more transparent, and more competitive,” she said.

Ms Audu, however, noted that the real test lies in translating reforms into practical outcomes for businesses.

“As important as progress is, progress alone is not enough. The real question is whether reforms can deliver faster permitting processes, clearer regulatory pathways and efficient capital deployment, because capital flows where certainty grows,” she added.

The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, said Nigeria’s ambition to build a $1 trillion economy will depend largely on the role of states and the private sector.

“We feel confident that with that mindset, led by the private sector, we can create a $1 trillion economy, supported by the response that our economy has experienced to doing what is right,” he said.

Also speaking, the Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Folashade Bada, said the state’s performance is the result of sustained institutional reforms and policy consistency.

“Our position is not accidental. It is the outcome of sustained institutional reforms, policy discipline, and a clear recognition that capital flows where there is clarity, confidence, and continuity,” she said.

She added that reforms in land administration, construction permits and taxation have improved transparency and reduced delays for businesses, with low-risk construction permits now processed within 15 working days.

According to her, Lagos has also invested in infrastructure, including fibre-optic networks, transport systems and logistics, to support economic activities and attract investors.

The state, she said, has developed a strong public-private partnership framework that ensures projects meet international standards and provide predictable processes for investors.

Background

In its previous ranking released in December 2025, PEBEC named Lagos as the best-performing state with a score of 85.6 per cent, followed by Kaduna and Oyo.

The Subnational Ease of Doing Business Report assesses how Nigeria’s 36 states and the FCT are improving business competitiveness through reforms in areas such as land administration, taxation, infrastructure, trade logistics and justice delivery.

However, recent reports suggest that challenges persist within the informal sector, which accounts for a significant share of economic activity in Lagos.

The Punch Newspaper reported that many small-scale traders, particularly women in major markets such as Oyingbo, Mile 12 and Oshodi, are subjected to multiple levies collected by informal agents, often without receipts or clear legal backing.

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The report noted that such payments, sometimes enforced through intimidation, significantly reduce traders’ earnings and undermine the ease of doing business at the grassroots level.

Experts have also raised concerns that unregulated and overlapping levies across different authorities could weaken the impact of ongoing business environment reforms if not addressed.

PEBEC, established in 2016, is mandated to remove bureaucratic constraints and improve the overall business environment in Nigeria.