The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has identified the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the National Pension Commission (PenCom) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) as the top-performing government agencies in implementing reforms aimed at improving Nigeria’s ease of doing business.

Director-General of PEBEC, Zahrah Mustapha Audu, made the disclosure on Friday during an interaction with journalists in Abuja, where she also announced that 98 per cent of the 69 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) monitored by the council now meet prescribed responsiveness standards under the Business Facilitation Act (BFA).

She said the improvement followed targeted interventions undertaken by PEBEC to address deficiencies identified in the 2025 Business Facilitation Act Compliance Report.

According to Audu, PEBEC was established with two primary mandates: eliminating bureaucratic and legislative bottlenecks that hinder business activities and improving Nigeria’s ease of doing business to attract greater domestic and foreign investment.

She explained that rather than publicly criticising agencies that fall short of expectations, the council works collaboratively with them to improve service delivery.

“PEBEC is not a name-and-shame organisation. When we identify gaps, we work with the agencies by providing technical assistance to help them address those challenges and improve service delivery,” she said.

The Director-General disclosed that the council recently concluded its 90-day Business Environment Enhancement Accelerator Programme, during which reform champions embedded across the 69 MDAs worked closely with PEBEC to improve compliance with the Business Facilitation Act and strengthen public service delivery.

She said the intervention produced significant results, with 98 per cent of the agencies now responding promptly to enquiries and complying with stipulated service delivery timelines.

Audu explained that while responsiveness remains important, the council is now placing greater emphasis on competitiveness and efficiency.

According to her, Nigeria’s ambition is not only to improve internal performance but also to outperform competing investment destinations within Africa.

“We are asking how Nigeria can become easier to do business in than neighbouring countries such as Ghana, Benin Republic and Kenya before benchmarking ourselves against global best practices,” she stated.

She also disclosed that PEBEC had reviewed licensing procedures and documentation requirements across government institutions with a view to eliminating outdated, repetitive and unnecessary processes that increase the cost of doing business.

Citing the National Identification Number (NIN) as an example, Audu said government agencies should stop requesting documents containing information already captured in the national identity database.

“The objective is to streamline processes and make regulatory compliance easier for businesses,” she added.

Speaking on the assessment, Audu said several agencies distinguished themselves by exceeding the minimum compliance requirements and introducing additional reforms that enhanced customer experience.

She said the Nigeria Customs Service emerged as one of the strongest performers after successfully completing all assessment requirements while reducing cargo processing timelines and simplifying import and export clearance procedures.

She also commended the Nigerian Ports Authority, the National Information Technology Development Agency and the National Pension Commission for fully complying with the assessment metrics and introducing innovative measures that further improved service delivery.

According to her, the objective of the compliance assessment is not to rank agencies but to institutionalise reforms that improve the experience of businesses dealing with government institutions.

She stressed that every government agency contributes to Nigeria’s overall investment image, warning that inefficiency in one institution affects perceptions of the entire country.

“If someone has a bad experience with one government agency, they do not separate that agency from the government. They simply conclude that Nigeria is not working,” she said.

Although she expressed satisfaction with the overall progress achieved, Audu acknowledged that a few institutions still require further improvements and assured that PEBEC would continue supporting them through technical assistance and regular monitoring.

She disclosed that the council conducts quarterly independent service assessments through anonymous “mystery shopping” exercises, during which officials access government services as ordinary users to evaluate actual service delivery rather than relying solely on reports submitted by agencies.

According to her, the initiative, introduced in 2025, provides a more accurate picture of the experiences of businesses and citizens interacting with government institutions.

She added that PEBEC’s monitoring framework is supported by live performance trackers that allow both government agencies and the public to monitor compliance levels and identify areas requiring improvement.

Audu announced that the 2026 Business Facilitation Act Compliance Report is expected to be published in November after the completion of the council’s annual assessment.

Looking ahead, she identified digital integration across government institutions as one of PEBEC’s major reform priorities. While acknowledging that many agencies have already digitised their services, she noted that businesses still submit identical information repeatedly because government platforms do not communicate with one another.

She said PEBEC would collaborate with relevant digital agencies to establish integrated platforms that enable secure information sharing among government institutions, reduce duplication, simplify regulatory compliance and improve service efficiency.

According to Audu, the long-term objective is to build a public service culture anchored on transparency, efficiency and accountability while creating a business environment that is competitive, investor-friendly and capable of driving sustainable economic growth.