AWKA: The Anambra State government has rejected the 2025 State Performance Index released by Philips Consulting Limited (PCL), which ranked the state 34th nationwide.
In a statement on Thursday, the Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Mrs. Chiamaka Nnake, described the ranking as methodologically weak and misleading, noting that Anambra was rated 8th in 2024 but was inexplicably downgraded to 34th this year.
According to her, the index raises serious credibility concerns. She argued that PCL, known primarily for human resource services, lacks the expertise to conduct state performance rankings.
he 2025 PCL index raises fundamental questions: What capacity does PCL have to rank states? How was the research designed, and on what basis were conclusions drawn?” she asked.
Nnake faulted the use of just 78 respondents in a state with a population of over six million, stressing that by Cochran’s formula, a minimum of 385 participants was required for a 5% margin of error.
She also pointed out the gender imbalance, with 76% of respondents being male, making the findings unrepresentative.
She further argued that the report placed more emphasis on expenditure levels than on impact and efficiency, without consulting stakeholders or validating its findings across Anambra communities.
To buttress her point, Nnake highlighted Anambra’s recent achievements:
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Education: Free schooling from nursery to SS3, 27% increase in primary enrolment, recruitment of 8,115 teachers, and multiple national and international awards.
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Healthcare: Ranked No. 1 in Nigeria in the 2024 National Primary Healthcare Leadership Challenge, won a $1.2 million award, provided free antenatal and delivery care for over 120,000 women, and increased hospital patronage from 25% in 2022 to 73%.
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Infrastructure: 842.2 km of roads awarded in three years, with 546.3 km completed, including 150 km of dualized roads, bridges, and flyovers.
She noted that despite these verifiable achievements, PCL ranked Anambra 30th in health and 34th overall, which she described as inconsistent with international assessments that placed the state among the top performers.
When international organizations rank Anambra at the top and PCL places it at the bottom, the credibility gap becomes impossible to ignore, she added.
The Commissioner urged PCL to adopt more rigorous statistical methods, conduct proper field engagement, and ensure impartial analysis in future reports.
You cannot sit in Lagos or Abuja and rely on what a handful of people ‘think’ to rank states. Anything less reduces serious work to propaganda,” Nnake said.
