The Anambra State Government has strongly criticised the 2025 State Performance Index released by Philips Consulting Limited, describing the assessment as inaccurate, poorly researched, and damaging to the firm’s credibility.
The PCL report, published on Thursday, had ranked Anambra among the least performing states in the country, labelling it as one of the “underperforming” states and among the worst to live in.
The state government, however, dismissed the findings, insisting the rating process lacked transparency and methodological soundness.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Chiamaka Nnake, said the publication failed to meet professional standards and posed a risk to the reputation of the consulting firm itself.
Nnake stressed that Anambra was making remarkable progress across key sectors such as education, health, infrastructure, and security.
She also pointed out that credible international organisations, which adopt rigorous and verifiable methodologies, had placed Anambra among the top-performing states.
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She noted the inconsistency of the latest PCL ranking, describing it as unreliable. “Now, in 2025, with a phantom change in methodology, the state suddenly plunged to 34th. Such dramatic swings within one year should have compelled any serious consultant to re-examine assumptions, refine data, and validate findings, perhaps via field engagement, not publishing questionable outcomes,” she said.
The commissioner further highlighted what she called “methodological flaws, sample data bias, over-reliance on spending without outcomes and lack of ground engagement” as the major weaknesses in the PCL report.
Quoting directly from the statement, she said, “Philips Consulting Limited, once renowned for its expertise in human resource services, now appears to have veered into areas far beyond its traditional competence. Everyone now rushes into the business of ‘ranking’ as the new fad in town. While it is not wrong for a firm to broaden its scope, such ventures demand rigorous training, capacity development, and methodological soundness. Without these, credibility is compromised, and reputations are put at risk.”
The government maintained that the report could not be taken seriously and questioned the firm’s capability to assess Nigerian states effectively.
