A report has ranked Rivers State as the top-performing state in Nigeria. This comes barely one month after the federal high court in Abuja barred the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Accountant General of the Federation from releasing allocations from the federation account to the state.
The report by civic organization BudgIT evaluates fiscal sustainability and governance, providing key insights into the financial health and independence of the 36 states. The 2024 State of States report seen on BudgIT’s website shows that Rivers State secured the top position in overall fiscal performance, outperforming other states on two critical indices namely Index A and Index B.
It said index A measures states’ dependence on federally distributed revenue, indicating Rivers state’s financial viability if existing independently. Rivers outpaced Lagos, Ogun, and Anambra, which ranked 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, in that order. Index B assesses states’ ability to meet capital expenditure needs after settling recurrent expenses.