Phillips Consulting revises 2026 index of Nigerian state performance

Phillips Consulting Limited has released a revised 2026 pcl. State Performance Index, replacing the edition published in July after the release of newer audited financial statements and a review of its methodology. The revised index uses fiscal-year 2025 audited accounts, rather than the 2024 figures used in the initial 2026 assessment.

The company said the new edition is now the definitive 2026 version and is intended to provide a more current basis for comparing performance across Nigeria’s states. The first 2026 report used a single Momentum Index to rank states on a blended score. Following a review, Phillips Consulting said it corrected methodological and interpretive issues and recalculated the results.

The revised model separates current performance from changes over time. A Performance Snapshot shows where each state stands, while a Rank Trajectory tracks movement across the 2024, 2025 and 2026 editions. Changes are measured through shifts in performance rank rather than score differences because the editions used different scales.

The financial assessment now considers both debt per person and debt relative to state revenue when examining sustainability. The treatment of financial transparency has also changed: the index considers when audited accounts were published in relation to statutory deadlines, rather than simply whether accounts were available. States without qualifying audited accounts are left unscored instead of receiving zero, the firm said.

It argued that this prevents missing data from being interpreted as evidence of poor performance. Phillips Consulting chairman Foluso Phillips said the revision reflected a responsibility to reassess findings when new evidence became available. Chief Operating Officer Olawanle Moronkeji said the changes would help governments, investors, researchers and citizens distinguish between a state’s current position and its direction of travel.

The company said the 2024 and 2025 editions remain unchanged. It also announced that future editions would be published after July 31 each year, allowing them to use audited accounts for the immediately preceding financial year when available.