Jigawa and Gombe are known as ‘the most friendly states’ in business affairs
By Elegbede Abiodun
The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council has released the second edition of the Subnational Ease of Doing Business Report for 2023, which once again places Gombe and Jigawa ahead of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Gombe, referred to as the Jewel of the Savannah, recorded a weighted score of 7.15 to emerge as the state providing the friendliest environment for business. Placed second is Jigawa State (6.79), followed in third by Sokoto State (6.88).
Since 2017, the PEBEC has been implementing reforms aimed at removing bureaucratic constraints to doing business and making Nigeria a progressively easier place to do business.
It subsequently made a proposal to the National Economic Council to replicate the ease of doing business initiative at the subnational level, which was unanimously approved in July 2017.
Nigeria’s Subnational Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) Report was undertaken by the PEBEC to provide empirical information on the attractiveness of states’ business climates and to serve as a credible reference resource for businesses and investors.
The 2023 Subnational Ease of Doing Business Report builds on the inaugural Subnational EoDB Baseline Report released in March 2021 and improves it in several areas, including deepening of the methodology and enhancing the statistical significance of the Survey.
The report provides more nuanced information on the business climate across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. It highlights improvements made since the release of the last report in March 2021 and identifies the challenges that remain to be met, as well as the reforms that need to be implemented to make the business environment more conducive for businesses and investors.
The subnational survey methodology framework was developed by the Technical Working Group of PEBEC’s National Economic Council (NEC) comprising representation from six states drawn from the six geopolitical zones, the NEC Secretariat, Nigerian Governors’ Forum, the
Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, and other private sector representatives.
The new report features six indicators – Infrastructure; Secure and Stable
Environment; Transparency and Accessibility of Information; Regulatory Environment; and Skills and Labour and Economic Opportunity. Each state has been rated on a 10-point scale across the indicators, providing the basis for calculating the 2023 weighted EoDB score for each state.
Source: The Punch.
