From John Chukwu, Enugu
The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBC) has declared Enugu State as the worst in Ease of Doing Business.
In its annual report on Nigeria’s sub-national ease of doing business released over the weekend, the body scored Enugu State as the 36th state in ranking order.
The latest report which was posted on its X social media platform (formerly Twitter), Enugu State was rankef 36th out of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
This, it noted, represents a drop of nine steps from the 27th position it posted in its 2021 ranking.
The report evaluates 10 key economic and social indices applied in the ranking, including capital importation, infant mortality, poverty rate, out-of-school children, total public debt, and formal enterprises, among others.
Enugu, in the report, was mentioned as having a total public debt of more than N146 billion, owes arrears of pensions to retired workers, has more than 70,000 out-of-school children aged six to 15, has only 26,000 formal enterprises, and habours a total of 2.63 million poor people.
It was a different performance for Abia State, which moved its ranking from 33rd in 2021 to 21st in the latest ranking, representing a leap upwards of 12 steps and making it the best state in the ease of doing business in the southeast.
Closely following Enugu from the rear in the ranking is Ebonyi State, which dropped from 23rd position to 32nd out of the 36 states.
While Anambra State was unmoved, maintaining the 7th position achieved in 2021, Imo State dropped marginally by two steps, falling from 11th in 2021 to 13th in the latest ranking.
The Sub-national Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) Report aims 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 report, according to information in the document, builds on the inaugural Sub-national 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 coincided with an Open Letter by Jon. Chijioke Edeoga, candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 Governorship election in the state in which he alleged that the excessive tax regime imposed by the state Governor, Peter Mbah, was adversely impacting the economy of the state.
Edeoga insisted that the tax regime has resulted in economic hardships, adding that they it has also “conspired to result in the shutdown of countless small and medium businesses,” in the state.
Our correspondent reports that business owners in Enugu are complaining so much over multiple taxes and unprecedented increases in charges by the state government and all revenue generating agencies, with some of the agencies hiking their charges by about 100 per cent, with nobody listening to them.
Several businesses are being closed down, building permits gone up by more than 1,500 per cent, and peoples buildings being demolished or marked for demolition under the guide of “disruptive development module” introduced by Governor Mbah.
