Lagos rated Nigeria’s best state in 2025
Lagos State has been named Nigeria’s best-performing state in the 2025 Phillips Consulting State Performance Index, emerging as the only state in the country to attain a five-star rating in the annual assessment of governance and development outcomes.
The ranking, released by Phillips Consulting, evaluated the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory across key sectors, including fiscal management, economic development, infrastructure, healthcare, education, governance, environmental sustainability and digital access.
According to the report, Lagos was the sole state to secure what was described as an “exceptional” rating, placing it first overall among all states of the federation. The assessment combined objective development indicators with citizens’ perception surveys to provide a comprehensive measure of state performance.
Trailing Lagos in the ranking were Ogun, Kaduna, Adamawa and Niger states, which all secured four-star ratings under the index’s performance framework. While the states were recognised for strong performances across several indicators, the report said none matched Lagos in overall governance effectiveness, economic resilience and service delivery.
The report stated that the outcome reinforced Lagos’ position as Nigeria’s economic hub and reflected years of investment in infrastructure, technology, transportation, urban renewal and institutional reforms.
According to the index, Lagos distinguished itself through strong performance in internally generated revenue, infrastructure development, private-sector growth and public service delivery.
The report noted that the state maintained a commanding lead in revenue generation, which was identified as a critical measure of fiscal sustainability and government capacity.
Phillips Consulting attributed Lagos’ performance partly to its position as Nigeria’s commercial and financial centre. “The state’s extensive transportation network, thriving business ecosystem, ports infrastructure and concentration of private enterprises contributed significantly to its dominance,” the report stated.
It also highlighted Lagos’ leadership in innovation and digital transformation, noting that technology-driven governance reforms and digital service delivery initiatives had strengthened transparency, efficiency and citizen engagement.
The report added that, unlike many states that remain heavily dependent on federal allocations, Lagos had consistently demonstrated the ability to generate and deploy local resources to finance development projects and expand public services.
According to the report, this factor played a significant role in the final assessment. It stated that the 2025 index adopted a methodology that assigned 70 per cent weight to objective performance indicators and 30 per cent to citizen perception scores.
Nearly 10,000 respondents participated in the survey component of the exercise, providing insights into public confidence in governance and service delivery across the country, according to the report.
The report said Lagos’ emergence as the only five-star state reflected not only its economic strength but also the effectiveness of governance structures developed over successive administrations.
It added that while Lagos had consistently ranked among Nigeria’s top-performing states in previous editions of the index, the 2025 outcome marked a wider gap between the state and its closest competitors, as no other state attained a five-star rating.
Ogun State, which ranked second overall, retained its status as one of Nigeria’s most industrialised states, while Kaduna, Adamawa and Niger recorded performances that earned them places in the four-star category.
The report noted that the performance of the four states demonstrated increasing competitiveness among leading subnational governments, even as Lagos continued to maintain its leadership position.
Phillips Consulting stated that the objective of the index extends beyond ranking states, describing it as a strategic governance tool designed to help policymakers identify performance gaps, benchmark progress and implement evidence-based reforms.
“With its emergence as the country’s only five-star state in the 2025 pSPI, Lagos has reinforced its position as Nigeria’s benchmark for governance, economic development and public-sector performance, further raising the bar for other states seeking to accelerate growth and improve the quality of life for their citizens,” the report stated.
Credit – Punch
