Abia State has emerged as Nigeria’s highest-rated state for citizen satisfaction and the third most improved in governance, according to the 2026 Nigeria State Performance Index (pSPI) released by Phillips Consulting.
The report, obtained by THE WHISTLER on Thursday, ranked Abia first in overall citizen satisfaction with a score of 3.86 out of 5. It led the only three states that attained the “Good” performance category, followed by Jigawa (3.69) and Sokoto (3.50).
The report assessed the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory on 37 governance indicators, as well as a Momentum Index that tracks how much each state has improved since previous editions.
The assessment combines 70 per cent objective data drawn from audited state financial statements and other credible secondary sources with 30 per cent citizen perception collected through a nationwide survey. The methodology measured performance across governance, fiscal management, infrastructure, social development and service delivery to determine whether states are converting increased public resources into better outcomes for residents.
After the assessment, Abia earned the country’s highest overall citizen satisfaction score of 3.86 out of 5. It was the only state to attain the report’s “Good” performance category. It also ranked third nationally on the Momentum Index with a score of +0.67, behind Enugu (+1.15) and Jigawa (+0.77).
The research firm said Abia’s rise reflects a “service-delivery turnaround”, where fiscal reforms translated into improvements that residents can see and feel.
The report attributed Abia’s performance to improved fiscal management, significant debt reduction, expanding healthcare reforms, free basic education and visible infrastructure improvements, noting that these reforms have produced “exceptionally strong citizen confidence across multiple sectors.”
The annual index assessed all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory across 37 indicators, combining 70 per cent objective data from audited financial records and other official sources with 30 per cent citizen perception.
Abia also dominated several citizen-rated indicators in the assessment.
Residents gave the state 4.33 for both publicity of government policies and government support for business, making it the highest-rated state nationally in both categories, with the latter tied only with Cross River. It also posted the country’s highest scores for security (4.08), public transport (4.25) and healthcare affordability (4.00), while sharing the top spot with Adamawa and Nasarawa on ease of owning property, where all three states scored 4.00.
Respondents rated Abia’s roads 4.42, second to Gombe’s 4.50, while environmental cleanliness scored 4.08, behind Gombe’s 4.10. The report noted that roads remained one of the country’s highest-rated public services. Abia also ranked second nationally for education quality and economic opportunity, recording 3.58 in both indicators.
Meanwhile, Abia residents identified employment among the areas where residents expect further improvements.
The report gave the state 3.08 for finding employment, 3.17 for access to clean water and 3.42 for law-enforcement conduct.
The scores, however, remain above the national average.
Across the 36 states, finding jobs recorded the lowest citizen satisfaction score at 2.42. Clean water followed at 2.52, while law-enforcement conduct scored 2.53 nationally.
Those were the country’s most persistent governance challenges despite improvements in other sectors.
Under fiscal reforms, Abia recorded strong public ratings supported by improvements in public finance.
According to the index, the state generated internally generated revenue equivalent to 55 per cent of its FAAC allocation, recorded N8,918 IGR per capita, maintained a capital investment ratio of 68 per cent, while its debt stood at N35,474 per resident.
One of the state’s flagship reforms cited in the report was its free basic education programme, which has reached more than 300,000 pupils, alongside the recruitment of 5,294 teachers.
The report identified debt reduction, stronger fiscal management and sustained investments in education and healthcare as the principal drivers behind Abia’s rapid rise.
S/East Ranked Top Performing Zone
The South-East became Nigeria’s highest-performing geopolitical zone on the Momentum Index with an average score of +0.12, carried by performances of Enugu and Abia.
It noted that Enugu now generates 218 per cent of its federal allocation internally, while Abia has converted governance reforms into high citizen confidence.
“The pattern is not north-versus-south but governance-versus-endowment,” the report said, adding, “The South-East now leads outright on the strength of Enugu and Abia; the northern zones (North-West, North-East) follow closely, improving from low bases through discipline and social-sector delivery; the South-West advances more modestly off a higher base; and the resource-rich South-South and the conflict-strained North-Central are slipping. Momentum, in short, is flowing toward the states that govern deliberately, wherever they sit on the map.”
Meanwhile, the report further showed that Nigeria’s strongest-performing states followed different paths to improvement.
Enugu, which topped the Momentum Index, achieved the feat through aggressive revenue reforms that pushed its internally generated revenue to more than twice its federal allocation.
Jigawa, at number two, combined prudent fiscal management with the country’s lowest debt burden at N5,057 per citizen, while Abia stood out through debt reduction and investments in social services.
Lagos, which remained the country’s fiscal giant, generated about 369 per cent of its FAAC allocation internally and became the first state to surpass N1tn in internally generated revenue.
Kano also stood out for fiscal self-reliance, generating 127 per cent of its federal allocation.
The report noted that higher revenues alone do not guarantee better governance.
“The states that top this index are not the richest,” it stated.
“Several are modestly resourced northern states, while some resource-rich states sit near the bottom.
“The lesson, repeated in indicator after indicator and state after state, is that governance and delivery, not the size of the purse, decide what citizens actually experience.”
(The Whistler)