Lagos Tops List as PEBEC Names Top-10 Performing States in Ease of Doing Business

*Reform-driven states record 40% drop in business registration timelines

Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja

Lagos, the nation’s commercial nerve-centre has emerged tops among ten best preforming states in the Ease of Doing Business Report for 2025, released by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC).
The ten top performing states were unveiled in Abuja, Friday in the PEBEC Subnational Ease of Doing Business Report 2025 at ‘The Reform and Diplomatic Rountable 2026’, organised by PEBEC in collaboration with the UK International Development and Nigeria Economic Stability and Transformation (NEST)
In the report, Lagos emerged tops, with Kaduna in the second position, followed by Oyo, FCT, Ogun, Enugu, Plateau, Ekiti, Kano and Nasarawa in the 10th position.
This report covered all 36 states and the FCT.
In assessing the subnationals, PEBEC adopted a framework comprising 16 Indicators, reflecting key dimensions of business functionality – access to electricity, infrastructure, digital connectivity, land administration, justice delivery,
taxation, trade logistics, investor support, crisis resilience, skilled labour, and related
regulatory factors.
Each indicator was broken down into 36 operational sub-Indicators tied to specific
administrative dataset.
The report noted that Lagos offers one of the most advanced and competitive business environments in
the country, combining reliable electricity, good transport infrastructure, decent digital
services, a functional land administration system, efficient courts and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanism, an operational one-stop shop, accessible grievance-redress mechanism, credit access, and a highly skilled
workforce, although land processing timelines, right-of-way fees, and some
administrative bottlenecks still present friction for investors.
Earlier in her opening remarks at the rountable themed, “Connecting Global Capital to Nigeria’s To 10 Subnational Ease of Doing Business States,” the Director General of PEBEC, Princess Zahrah Mustapha Audu, explained that reform-driven states have recorded up to 40 per cent reduction in business registration timelines.
Audu added that such states have also posted over 30 per cent improvement in land administration efficiency, significant gains in digital service delivery and dispute
resolution mechanisms
“These are not abstract metrics, they are signals to investors that Nigeria is becoming more predictable, more transparent, and more competitive,” she said.
According to her, the top-10 performing states, Lagos, Kaduna, Oyo, FCT,
Ogun, Enugu, Plateau, Ekiti, Kano, and Nasarawa—are demonstrating that when reforms are sustained, the results are
measurable, culminating in greater efficiency, reduced transaction costs, and stronger investor confidence.
Yet, as important as progress is, progress alone is not enough.
Audu stated that the roundtable which attracted an impressive participation of the diplomatic community marked a critical transition—from diagnostics
to deployment, from reform to results, and from potential to performance.