Doing Business in Nigeria
Doing Business in Nigeria 2008 measures the ways in which government regulations enhance or restrain business activity at the subnational level. This report compares 10 states and the Federal Capital Territory with each other and with 178 countries around the world. Four Doing Business topics are covered: starting a business, dealing with licenses, registering property, and enforcing contracts. These indicators have been selected because they cover areas of local jurisdiction or practice.Although there are substantial differences in the number of procedures, time, and cost to do business in Nigeria, some Nigerian states already perform up to international standards. If a hypothetical state, "Nigeriana," were to adopt the best regulations already in place in Nigeria, its ranking would improve in all four areas of regulation that are the focus of this study, putting "Nigeriana" in 51st place among the 178 economies measured in the global Doing Business report.
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Main findings:
- The performance of all Nigerian states is weakest in the area of registering property. Governor consent for property transfers is the main source of delays and high costs of property transfers throughout Nigeria. The delays in granting consent are longest in states where every consent is signed by the state governor, and shorter where the authority to grant consent has been delegated to another government official. Currently, all Nigerian states would rank low in the global Doing Business ranking. Abuja, FCT -- Nigeria’s top performer on this indicator -- would rank only 157 out of 178 economies worldwide.
- Registering a business has become significantly easier across Nigeria, thanks to computerization of the registry, establishment of zonal branches of Corporate Affairs Commission, and new Stamp Duty offices. Company registration remains fastest in Abuja, where the headquarters of Corporate Affairs Commission are located.
- Compliance with building regulation is easier and cheaper in northern states. There is wide variance in the cost of obtaining building permits across Nigeria. A permit for the same warehouse would cost just 25% of Nigeria's income per capita in Sokoto, and 826% in Lagos.
- There are substantial differences in the time and cost to enforce a commercial contract in Nigeria. Typically, court performance is better in states that have already implemented the new High Court rules, such as Abuja, FCT, Lagos, and Kaduna. Across the country, enforcement time substantially contributing to delays in recovery of commercial debts.
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