The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council has released the 2025 Subnational Ease of Doing Business Report, placing Lagos as the best-performing state with a score of 85.6 per cent. Kaduna followed in second position with 65.1 per cent, while Oyo, the Federal Capital Territory, and Ogun completed the top five with 62.7 per cent, 61.0 per cent, and 59.9 per cent, respectively. Enugu ranked sixth with 56.2 per cent, alongside Plateau, which also recorded 56.2 per cent, while Ekiti, Kano, and Nasarawa made up the top ten with 55.8 per cent, 54.8 per cent, and 53.4 per cent.
The report, compiled by the Council’s Director-General, offers a data-driven evaluation of how states are improving business climate through regulatory efficiency, infrastructure upgrades, and administrative reforms. The assessment covered 16 indicators and 36 sub-metrics that reflect the operational environment for businesses, including electricity access, land administration, digital connectivity, taxation, skilled labour readiness, trade logistics, commercial justice processes, and investor support systems. According to the Council, the leading states showed steady reform implementation, stronger digital services and more predictable regulatory frameworks that help businesses operate with fewer bottlenecks.
The report highlights five immediate actions states can take to accelerate business reforms. These include creating investor aftercare mechanisms to retain and grow investments, improving credit access for small businesses, harmonising interstate trade processes, upgrading commercial justice systems, and enhancing power supply reliability around industrial clusters. The Council noted that it will continue to work with states to support reform adoption under the State Action on Business Enabling Reforms programme valued at $750 million.
The Subnational EoDB Report is expected to guide policy planning, investment decisions and long-term competitiveness across the country. It is publicly accessible through the Council’s report portal. The Council recently released its Business Facilitation Act Performance Report for 2025, showing compliance levels among federal ministries, departments, and agencies between January and October. The report reviewed 69 priority institutions using monthly compliance submissions, process verification, digital audits and mystery shopping to measure service transparency and efficiency.
Top performers in the assessment include the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board with a score of 90.6 per cent, followed by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, which recorded 89 per cent. The Customs Service ranked third with 86.6 per cent, while the Communications Commission and the Ports Authority secured the fourth and fifth positions with 85.3 per cent and 84.2 per cent respectively.
The Business Environment Council, established in 2016, oversees reforms that remove bureaucratic barriers and improve the perception of the ease of doing business in Nigeria. It continues to drive reforms targeted at creating a more efficient, investment-friendly and MSME-supportive operating climate nationwide.
