Lagos, NCDMB named Nigeria’s top reform performers in Ease of doing business

Nigeria’s Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has named Lagos State and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) as the country’s strongest performers in its 2025 Subnational Ease of Doing Business Report.

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Lagos topped the list with (85.6 per cent), well ahead of Kaduna (65.1 per cent) and Oyo (62.7 per cent).

Abuja (FCT), Ogun, Enugu, Plateau, Ekiti, Kano and Nasarawa rounded out the top 10, with scores ranging from 44.5 / 73.0 (61.0 per cent) to 39.0 / 73.0 (53.4 per cent).

“Their rankings reflect strong compliance with the BFA and consistent delivery on service efficiency for citizens and businesses across Nigeria,” it posted on X.

The assessment, covering January to October 2025, examined state-level reforms across 16 indicators and 36 sub-metrics, including electricity reliability, digital infrastructure, land administration, tax processes, trade logistics, justice delivery, skilled-labour availability and investor support.

PEBEC said the results showed growing but uneven progress, noting that the most improved states had expanded digital systems, cut procedural bottlenecks and offered more predictable service timelines.

Speaking at the launch, PEBEC Director-General Zahrah Audu said the findings reinforced the connection between reform consistency and competitiveness.

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“This year’s results clearly show that when states prioritise transparency, technology, and predictable service delivery, competitiveness improves.The data is a tool for reform, not just a record of performance,” Arise News quoted her as saying.

She urged states to adopt the report’s priority interventions, including investor-aftercare structures, stronger MSME credit support, harmonised interstate trade rules, improved commercial dispute resolution and better power supply for industrial clusters.

Alongside the subnational rankings, PEBEC also released the 2025 Business Facilitation Act (BFA) Performance Report, which tracks how federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies complied with statutory service-efficiency requirements.

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The NCDMB led the MDA rankings with 90.6 per cent, followed by the NDLEA with 89.3 per cent and the Nigeria Customs Service with 86.6 per cent. The Nigerian Communications Commission and the Nigerian Ports Authority placed fourth and fifth with 85.3 per cent and 84.2 per cent respectively.

Ms Audu commended the top MDAs for demonstrating deliberate and disciplined adherence to the BFA.

She said the agencies’ performance showed what was achievable with transparent, technology-driven processes, and called on others to accelerate digital adoption and improve responsiveness to businesses and citizens.

The NCDMB had won the PEBEC Transparency and Efficiency Champion Award for the fourth consecutive year. The Board topped the Ease of Doing Business rankings in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.