Economy
Lagos, Delta, Rivers Lead Competitiveness Index in Nigeria
By Dipo Olowookere
Lagos, Delta and River States have emerged the most competitive states in Nigeria in terms of economy, human capital, infrastructure and institutions.
The ranking was released on Wednesday by the National Competitiveness Council of Nigeria (NCCN) and was witnessed by former Governor of Cross River State, Mr Donald Duke.
The competitiveness index ranked all the 36 states of the federation as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja across four key areas: Human Capital, Infrastructure, Economy and Institutions and it was the first ever National Competitiveness Report and Sub-National Index in the country.
Chief Executive of NCCN, Mr Chika Mordi, told newsmen at the unveiling of the survey that “Nigeria remains challenged in its competitiveness.
“We expect the SNI to have a catalytic effect in competitive state policies which will ultimately lead to greater business productivity, resulting in job creation and poverty reduction.”
In the index, Borno and Gombe States were ranked 36th and 37th respectively.
According to Mr Mordi, “The index is a culmination of 20 months of intense work. We have worked rigorously to ensure objectivity and transparency in our methodology data collection, analysis and interpretation.
“Where possible we applied effective tools for cross-validation, and ease of replicability. It is by no means perfect, but we envisage improvements with subsequent iterations of the index.”
He said Borno and Zamfara States lost significantly in the area of Human Capital – plagued by issues with healthcare and education.
According to the report, all of the states performed strongly in at least one of the four broad themes, and 23 indicators.
The new Sub-National Index presents a significant platform for research and discussion, elevating the national conversation about moving Nigeria away from crippling oil dependency, and embracing a diversified economy with sustainable market-based development.
The report also emphasizes the importance of competitiveness at the state level, highlighting local and state governance, and the vital role each state plays in the overall path to job-rich growth.
According to NCCN, data were collected for its unprecedented report in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and private surveying agencies.
The organisation conducted a household survey across all 36 states and the FCT, resulting in a sample of 8,147 households.
They also conducted a business climate survey, collecting information from two thousand (2000) private business establishments chosen at random, and using probability proportional to size (PPS) within each sector.
Out of this number, 1820 businesses responded to the survey, representing a 91 percent response rate.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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Conclusion
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
