The Top States In Nigeria’s Ease Of Doing Business Rankings

Gombe, Sokoto and Jigawa States are the easiest states to do business in Nigeria in 2021. That’s according to the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), chaired by Vice President YemiOsinbajo.

The data contained in the council’s subnational ease of doing business report ranks all states based on criteria mapped out by the PEBEC-NEC (National Economic Council) Technical Working Group. These criteria are Infrastructure and Security, Transparency and Access to Information, Regulatory Environment, and Skills in Workforce Readiness.

Reports suggest that KPMG Professional Services conducted the survey on which the rankings were based. The PEBEC’s ease of doing business rankings was recently reproduced in the State of States Report for 2022, published by BudgIT. That document also provides information about other developmental and public indices concerning all 36 states in Nigeria, as well as the FCT.

Other states in the top ten of the ease of doing business report rankings are Akwa Ibom, and Bauchi (which were both tied for fourth), Kebbi (sixth), Anambra (seventh); Ondo, Katsina, and Bayelsa came in at eight, ninth, and tenth respectively.

Zamfara was at the bottom of the list, ranking 37th. Abia, Edo, Delta, and Taraba were 33rd, 34th, 35th, and 36th, respectively. The list placed Rivers at 11th, a position it shared with Imo. Kaduna was 13th, Oyo 29th, and Kano 32nd. Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, was ranked 20th.

According to the PEBEC, the criteria for each state’s performance were also a composition of sub-themes. The infrastructure and security criterion amalgam of electricity, transportation, primary healthcare, and security. Transparency and accessibility to information had state information structures and investment as their components.

The regulatory environment consisted of paying taxes, starting a business, enforcing contracts, and land, property acquisition and development. Skills workforce readiness criterion refers to the technical and professional skills of the states.

The PEBEC’s report said there were improvements in the performance of 32 states, with Kaduna, Enugu, Abia, Lagos, and Anambra states leading the way.