The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) says differences in state-level digitalisation and automation largely explain why some Nigerian states perform better than others in the 2025 Subnational Ease of Doing Business Report, with states that have streamlined systems emerging stronger while others continue to struggle.
Speaking in an interview with ARISE News on Thursday, the Director-General of PEBEC, Princess Zahrah Mustapha Audu, explained that the 2025 report assessed how states implement business reforms, noting that technology driven processes and institutional efficiency played a major role in determining performance across the country.
According to Princess Zahrah, the ranking reflects how far states have gone in simplifying procedures for businesses, particularly through the use of digital tools and automated systems that reduce delays, human interference and bureaucratic bottlenecks.
“The majority of the states that have excelled is simply because they have started to digitalize and automate their systems and basically streamline processes, making it a lot easier to do business in those states,” she said.
She noted that the report goes beyond naming top-performing states, instead highlighting structural factors responsible for varying outcomes, including access to services, efficiency of land registration, tax administration, investor aftercare and regulatory transparency.
Princess Zahrah explained that PEBEC deliberately used multiple indicators to capture Nigeria’s complex business environment, adding that the indicators help reveal the unique challenges faced by different states.
“For us, because we try as much as possible to cover all the different unique factors of doing business in Nigeria, hence the multiple indicators,” she said.
“Every single indicator is put in there to show us or help explain the current situation within the business climate in Nigeria.”
She further described the 2025 report as a baseline document that allows government at all levels to measure progress and identify gaps that require urgent attention, stressing that the goal is not just ranking but sustained improvement.
“We have to have metrics, we have to understand where we’re at and we have to be able to build based on that,” Princess Zahrah said, adding that the findings would guide policy actions and technical support at both federal and subnational levels.
Addressing concerns about insecurity, the PEBEC Director-General clarified that security was not directly used as a core metric but acknowledged its indirect impact on how states prioritise business reforms.
“States that have internal security issues will obviously have different priorities from states that are more stable security-wise,” she said, noting that such challenges could affect the pace of policy implementation and institutional efficiency.
Princess Zahrah said PEBEC plans to begin implementing key recommendations from the report in 2026, with the aim of ensuring that future rankings reflect measurable improvements in service delivery and business conditions across states.
She added that the council’s work goes beyond publishing reports, emphasising ongoing technical assistance and collaboration with state governments to improve systems and processes.
Ademide Adebayo
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