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Purple Capital’s Maryland Mall Displays Growing Retail Trends
Have you heard about the new shopping trend, the new wind of change blowing across the agro-allied, business and commercial landscape?
It’s called “modern retail”. If you however still do most of your shopping in a traditional outdoor African-style market, then you’re not alone.
A recent study conducted by the International Livestock Research Institute shows that informal markets still supply between 85 and 95 percent of all food consumed in sub-Saharan Africa.
The modern-format retail supermarket is however a growing phenomenon across the continent, with Nigeria, potentially the largest consumer market in the Middle East and Africa region, poised to be a retailers’ delight.
According to the Broll Property Group, a commercial property services firm, Nigeria has at least 18 large shopping malls, each with at least 10,000 square meters of space to rent (about 108,000 square feet). Considering Nigeria’s estimated population size of about 182 million people, 18 large malls isn’t that many, relatively speaking.
Currently, sixty percent of South Africans shop in formal retail supermarkets compared to 30 percent of Kenyans, 4 percent of Ghanaians, 2 percent of Nigerians and 2 percent of Cameroonians, according to media reports.
The pent up demand for malls and modern-format supermarkets in Nigeria and in West Africa is therefore obvious.
As Nigeria’s commercial and industrial capital, Lagos is expected to lead the national count for malls over the next decade, in tandem with the city’s fast growing population, currently put at anywhere between 17 and 20 million people.
Projected to be one of the largest cities in the world by 2050, the city and suburbia of Lagos is now home to a fast growing middle class. Ultimately, their lifestyle choices will fuel the demand for modern goods and services.
Lagos is currently home to several malls. Most of these malls are however located on the coastal, more affluent sections of the state – in the Ikoyi-Victoria Island-Lekki peninsula axis – commonly referred to as the Island.
On the mainland side of Lagos are population heavy zones like Ojota, Oyingbo, Ojuelegba, Mile 2, Ikorodu and Ikeja, the state’s administrative capital which also has many residential cum commercial districts, like Agege, Ogba, Ojodu, and Maryland just to name a few.
An urban sprawl like Maryland, for instance, represents many things to many people.
Maryland illustrates the various realities of city life. Located right in the middle of mainland Lagos, Maryland has been a residential district and a hectic hub of activities for decades: it is also an economic and commercial nerve center; a major intersection connecting citizens and visitors alike to the major thoroughfares across the city, and a perfect exhibit of the city’s quest for affordable, urban development.
Maryland can indeed be regarded as the confluence of the city’s pain points, especially in the area of socio-economic progression and infrastructural development.
Not a few urban development experts have observed that, like so many other commercially and socially significant zones across the country, the Maryland area seems to be stuck in a time warp, as it continues to witness an ever increasing flow of human and vehicular activities, yet with almost zero upgrade to its environs in terms of accessible modern infrastructure and public services.
All of these is however about to change, thanks to the foresight of Purple Capital Partners Limited, a specialist investment, private equity and real estate firms – which began developing an ultra-modern mall along Ikorodu Road right where the defunct Maryland Shopping Center was once located.
The Mall is therefore strategically positioned to serve citizens and visitors alike, including residents of adjoining Mende, Anthony, Ilupeju, Ojota, GRA Ikeja, Oshodi, Gbagada and all commuters along that axis.
“The construction of the new Maryland Mall began about two years,” said Laide Agboola, managing partner, Purple Capital Partners. Opening its doors to the public later this year, the Maryland Mall is expected to transform the hugely underserved retail landscape of mainland Lagos, with positive spin-offs to the economy of the state.
“Clearly, this new Maryland Mall will be an important addition to the retail, entertainment and lifestyle landscape of Lagos State,” Agboola said. The mall is currently has a diverse base of tenants, a mix of local and international brands led by Shoprite, The Place restaurant and Stanbic IBTC Bank.
When eventually the new Maryland Mall opens its doors to the public, visitors to the mall and the entire city of Lagos will also begin to enjoy a unique feature of the mall which will set it apart from any other supermarket or mall in Africa’s largest economy: it will have the largest outdoor LED screen in West Africa.
The LED screen is to be installed across the full length of the building acting as a façade facing Ikorodu Road.
This makes it a landmark building with a remarkable outdoor character and atmosphere in tandem with world renowned locations like Times Square in New York, USA and Piccadilly Circus, London, England, amongst others.
The digital advertising platform will be a first for any retail structure in Nigeria.
Beyond its appealing aesthetics and social communications functions, it simply increases the Maryland Mall’s revenue streams, further enhancing the efficiency and financial viability of the facility.
Obinna Onunkwo, managing partner, Purple Capital Partners says: “Innovation has been the key to creating this unique facility. We need more modern malls, it’s not just a matter of delivering a delightful shopping environment, it’s a social and economic development issue. We strongly believe that Maryland Mall will alter the face of retail sector in Nigeria.”
National Population Commission (NPC) has commenced the nationwide digital registration of births and deaths under the Electronic Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (E-CRVS) system to strengthen legal identity management and improve demographic data.
Speaking at a press briefing in Lokoja on Tuesday, Mr Afolabi Yori, federal commissioner representing Kogi, said the initiative became operational nationwide on July 1, through the VitalReg platform.
Yori described the development as a landmark in Nigeria’s civil registration system, noting that it would modernise birth and death registration through a technology-driven platform that meets international standards.
He said the digital platform would improve service delivery, strengthen data integrity and ensure that every birth and death occurring in Nigeria was accurately documented and securely stored.
According to him, civil registration is more than an administrative process, as it provides reliable statistics that support public policy formulation, resource allocation and national development planning.
“Nigeria records an estimated five million births annually, yet millions of births and deaths remain unregistered.
“Birth registration coverage currently stands at about 57 per cent nationwide, while death registration remains below 20 per cent,” he said.
The commissioner said that the commission had established 4,011 functional registration centres across the country’s 774 local government areas and was working to expand the number to about 8,000.
He added that the commission was strengthening collaboration with stakeholders to improve the capacity of registration personnel and ensure prompt documentation of vital events through the VitalReg platform.
Yori said the platform would provide faster registration services, 24-hour online access, digital certificate issuance where applicable, and reduce paperwork, waiting time and unnecessary travel.
He disclosed that the platform was being operated under a Public-Private Partnership with Barnks-forte Technologies Ltd. as the commission’s technical partner to ensure system availability, cybersecurity and continuous technological improvement.
He called on parents, healthcare institutions, traditional and religious leaders, civil society organisations, development partners and the media to support the initiative by encouraging the prompt registration of births and deaths.
Earlier, Samuel Omonakpeme, director in Kogi, NPC State, described the commencement of the digital registration system as another milestone in efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s Civil Registration and Vital Statistics system.
Omonakpeme stated that the initiative aligns with the Federal Government’s digital transformation agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 16.9, which seeks to provide legal identity for all.
He appreciated the Federal Government, the leadership of the commission, UNICEF and other development partners for supporting the implementation of the initiative.
The state director also urged parents, guardians, health institutions, community leaders, religious organisations and the media to mobilise public support for the timely registration of all births and deaths.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that ICT personnel of the commission, led by Ehimoni Kolawole, conducted a live demonstration of the digital birth registration process using the VitalReg platform.
The demonstration showed that the registration process captures the biodata of both parents, while at least one parent must possess a valid National Identification Number (NIN) to complete the registration of a newborn.
Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC) has alerted its customers to a fraudulent message circulating on social media, falsely claiming that electricity consumers can receive an additional 20 per cent bonus units when recharging their prepaid meters through unofficial channels.
In a statement issued by the company’s management on Monday, YEDC described the claim as false and urged customers to disregard the misleading information, stressing that it did not originate from the company.
According to the statement, YEDC does not offer bonus electricity units through individuals, agents, personal bank accounts, phone numbers, or social media contacts.
The company advised customers to purchase electricity tokens only through approved cashless payment platforms, including the YEDC Pay App, OPay, Interswitch, and other authorised vending channels, or to visit the nearest YEDC office for assistance.
YEDC also cautioned customers against sharing their meter details or personal information, or making payments to unauthorised persons claiming to represent the company.
The company further urged customers to rely exclusively on information disseminated through its official communication channels to avoid falling victim to fraud.
The management thanked customers for their continued cooperation and reaffirmed its commitment to serving them.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that two foreign currency accounts opened in connection with the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) have remained inactive since their creation, with no funds deposited and no transactions recorded.
The revelation emerged on Monday during the ongoing investigation by the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee probing the circumstances surrounding the establishment and operations of the council.
Lawmakers are investigating allegations that the PFIPC was created and operated without a valid legal framework and outside the established procedures required for government agencies and institutions.
Appearing before the committee, representatives of both the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) distanced their institutions from the establishment of the council.
The Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation stated that it neither created the council nor possessed the constitutional authority to establish federal agencies.
Representing the office, officials explained that the OHCSF is only responsible for approving administrative structures of government agencies after all necessary requirements have been fulfilled.
According to the office, records showed that the council submitted a request on August 6, 2025, seeking approval for its organisational structure.
However, the application was not approved because the required supporting documents were not attached.
The committee heard that despite the rejection of the request, officials linked to the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC)/PFIPC later appeared during the 2025 manpower budget defence exercise and sought approval for staffing and recruitment arrangements.
The office disclosed that the council informed government officials that its activities were being carried out largely through personnel seconded or deployed from other institutions.
Lawmakers were told that the council requested approval for a total of 314 positions. The figure consisted of 14 existing officers and an additional 300 proposed positions.
The Office of the Head of the Civil Service further revealed that concerns later arose regarding documents presented by the council as evidence of its legal backing.
Officials told the committee that upon examination, the documents failed to display essential features expected of an enabling law or valid legal instrument establishing a government body.
Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, head of the Civil Service of the Federation, also rejected claims that her office deployed civil servants to work for the council.
She maintained that the office did not assign personnel to the body and did not provide office accommodation for its operations.
According to her, matters relating to the creation, supervision and oversight of government agencies fall under the responsibilities of other relevant institutions, including the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
The Central Bank of Nigeria also provided details regarding accounts linked to the council.Nigerian current events
Hamisu Abdullahi, director at the apex bank, who represented the CBN Governor before the committee, explained that the bank opened two foreign currency accounts following a formal request from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
He told lawmakers that the request was received on July 30, 2025, and instructed the bank to create a United States dollar domiciliary account and a Pound Sterling domiciliary account.
Abdullahi stressed that the CBN only opens accounts for government agencies after receiving official authorisation from the Accountant-General’s office.
However, he disclosed that the accounts never became operational because the council failed to provide authorised signatories required for activation.
As a result, both accounts remained dormant from the day they were opened.
He informed the committee that neither account had received deposits nor processed withdrawals. The accounts also recorded no foreign exchange allocations, remittances, inflows or outflows.Governor election news
According to him, the balances in both accounts remain at zero.
The CBN official further stated that the council did not engage directly with the apex bank regarding the management or operation of the accounts after they were created.
Following the submissions, members of the committee demanded more information as part of efforts to determine the full scope of the council’s activities.
Hon. Abdulmalik Danga, chairman of the committee, directed the Central Bank to submit comprehensive records relating to both the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council.
The committee requested details covering the opening of the accounts, their operational history and any information connected to related banking activities.
Lawmakers also instructed the CBN to work with commercial banks to identify and provide records of any accounts linked to the entities under investigation.
However, the committee is expected to continue its hearings as more government agencies and officials appear before lawmakers to provide explanations on the controversial council and the circumstances surrounding its operations.
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