By Bassey Udo
The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has identified Lagos and nine other states of the Federation as prime investment destinations in the country.
The Council, which arrived at the selection based on the ranking of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) contained in the 2025 Subnational Ease of Doing Business Report, said the other nine states include Kaduna, Oyo, FCT, Ogun, Enugu, Plateau, Ekiti, Kano, and Nasarawa.
In the report presented in Abuja at the Diplomatic Community and Strategic Partners Roundtable on the theme: “Connecting Global Capital to Nigeria’s Top 10 Ease of Doing Business States”, PEBEC said Lagos ranked tops with a score of 62.7/73 or percentage score of 86.6%; Kaduna 47.5/73, or 65.1%; Oyo 45.8/73, or 62.7%; FCT 44.5/73, or 61%; Ogun 43.8/73, or 59.9%; Enugu and Plateau 41/73, or 56.2%; Ekiti 40.8/73, or 55.8%; Kano 40/73, or 54.8%, and Nasarawa 39/73, or 53.4%.
The rankings were based on set criteria, including the implementation of reforms in key sectors of their economy, which resulted in about 40% reduction in business registration timelines; over 30% improvement in land administration efficiency, and significant gains in digital service delivery and dispute resolution.
In his remarks at the roundtable on Friday, the Director-General of PEBEC, Princess Zahrah Mustapha Audu, said the content of the report showed the impact of sustained reforms, which are producing measurable outcomes across the affected states.
“These indicators are not abstract metrics. They are indicators to prospective investors, particularly those outside the country, that Nigeria is becoming more predictable, more transparent, and more competitive in terms of ease of doing business,” she said.
What the top 10 investment destination states has shown is that when reforms are sustained, the results are measurable: greater efficiency is achieved, transaction costs are reduced and stronger investor confidence is built.
The event, organised by PEBEC in collaboration with the Nigeria Economic Stability and Transformation (NEST), the UK International Development (UKAID), the British High Commission, and other partners, focused on connecting the global investment capital to the country’s top-performing states.
Despite the visible progress in the implementation of the various reforms by the present administration, Audu noted that the key challenge remained in efforts to ensure these were translated into practical outcomes for prospective investors and existing businesses.
“Progress alone is not enough. The real question before us is: can reforms translate into results? Can they deliver faster permitting processes, clearer regulatory pathways, and efficient capital deployment? Because ultimately, capital flows where certainty grows,” she said.
The focus of PEBEC, she said, has been on three major areas, namely improving the quality and coordination of regulations to ensure policies were practical and transparent; enhancing service delivery through platforms such as ReportGov (which allows real-time feedback on business challenges), and deepening reforms at the state level where most business activities take place.
The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, who also spoke at the event, said Nigeria’s aspiration of building a $1 trillion economy depended largely on the contributions of the states and the private sector.
Bagudu, who expressed confidence that the creation of a $1 trillion economy was achievable, said the nation’s federal structure confers significant authority on the states and local governments to attract investments and drive economic growth through the ability to enter into contracts and operate their own legal systems for promoting business.
He encouraged the states to embrace a healthy competition among themselves, supported by reforms and development programmes backed by credible development institutions like the World Bank, to promote improved economic performance across the country.
The Minister identified the nation’s entrepreneurial population as a strong advantage, noting that citizens across all states possess similar drive and capacity for innovation and hard work to promote economic growth.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade, and Investment, Mrs. Folashade Bada, who represented the State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said Lagos’ emergence as the top performer among the states of the Federation was a product of deliberate and sustained reforms to create the right environment for doing business.
“Our position is not accidental. It is the outcome of sustained institutional reforms, policy discipline, and a clear recognition that capital flows where there is clarity, confidence, and continuity,” she said.
Bada who disclosed that Lagos accounts for more than 30 percent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), said over 60 percent of the country’s overall commercial and industrial activities take place in the state.
The state’s long-term development strategy, she pointed out, was anchored on its 2052 Development Plan, designed to ensure continuity in economic transformation across different administrations.
Also, she announced that the Lagos State Industrial Policy 2025–2030, would soon be unveiled, to promote a production-driven and export-oriented economy.
She said the top performance of the states in the survey was as a result of the reforms in land administration, improvement in construction permits, and tax systems as well as transparency and reduction in delays in documentation for businesses.
Specifically, she said the introduction of digital platforms in the provision of services by government agencies has not only made processes more efficient, it has made it possible for low-risk construction permits to be processed within 15 working days.
Besides, the Commissioner said the state government invested heavily in infrastructure, including fibre-optic networks, transport systems, and logistics, to support economic activities and attract investors.
In addition, she said the state has been able to develop a strong public-private partnership framework that allows projects to be structured to international standards, with clear risk-sharing arrangements and predictable processes for investors.
Nigeria’s overall investment potential, she pointed out, goes beyond any single state, saying there was need for partnership and collaboration among reform-driven states to create a more consistent and attractive business environment nationwide.
In a presentation on Nigeria’s investment outlook 2026, NEST said while Nigeria appears ready for business, in view of improving credibility as a result of macroeconomic reforms; stabilizing economic outlook as a result of FC, fiscal and policy adjustments, there need to remain cautiously positive and leverage on the potentials of the top reform-performing states for growth.
NEST said the significance of the 10 States was that the PEBEC ease of doing business indicators have shown they are faster in approval of business permits; have more predictable regulation; better land & permit systems; improved justice system; stronger investor engagement; digital governance improvements; investor aftercare; lower execution risk and higher investment
probability.
Although each of the 10 State possess their investment identity based on areas of comparable advantage, NEST emphasized the need to think about working clusters for enhanced growth.
While Lagos is identified as the hub for
finance, technology, and logistics, NEST said the state would enhance their productive capacity if partners with Ogun state in the Industrial & logistics corridor of South western region, while Kaduna, which is the Northern region’s Industrial Base could work with Kano, FCT and Nasarawa to promote the Northern Agro-Industrial Belt.and Urban Expansion & Minerals Hub.
Similarly Oyo, which is identified as the agro-processing hub could work to promote the Southwest Inland Production Hub, while Enugu, which is associated with energy and regional services would work better within the Plateau Regional Processing & Trade Axis in terms of agriculture and tourism.
