Economy
Onitsha Shoprite Idles Away
It was set up to compete with other shopping malls in Awka and Nnewi. But the shopping mall in Onitsha, housing Shoprite is not being patronised. Reason? The people have so many markets that offer cheaper prices as Okegwo Kenechukwu in Onitsha, reports,
In fairness to the former Governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi, there was no doubt that he had the desire to make Anambra State a megacity to reckon with in Nigeria and beyond.
To some people, he was the Messiah who turned the fortune of the state around but to some, Obi came on a business voyage with an overriding interest to explore and exploit all avenues of untapped mineral and material resources of the state.
Among the enterprise of the former governor that are visible are the Sab Milla Breweries, makers of Hero beer, the non-functioning Orient Petroleum Resources and the Shopping Mall complexes sited in the three business zones of Awka, Onitsha and Nnewi. Although, the Orient Petroleum Resources in Umuoba Anam in Anambra West and Ayamelum Area is yet to commence production, over 85 per cent of the people of South East hailed the venture because it launched the state into the membership of oil producing states in Nigeria but since the completion and commissioning of the shopping mall in Onitsha on April 14 , 2016, by the present Governor of the state, Chief Willie Obiano, the Shoprite, which people thought would dwarf others in the South East zone has remained deserted, contrary to the expectation of the people.
This, according to inhabitants of the commercial city was because it was a misplaced economic venture.
Investigation has also shown that while the ones in Awka and Nnewi are at different stages of activities, that of Onitsha has remained deserted and a ghost of itself Onitsha Shopping Mall, according to them was located at the former Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS) Station office in Onitsha, inside the heart land of the commercial city to draw the expected customers that would patronize it to stand the test of time from within and around the city.
Investigation revealed that so many reasons have been adduced for the poor patronage of the business, while some believed that the location of the mall was ab initio, a subject of controversy between the people of Onitsha and Anambra State government on one side and the ABS on the other. Some alleged that the Onitsha people leased the land to the then Anambra State when one Chief Boniface Offorkaja was the General Manager of the Anambra Broadcasting Corporation in the early 1980s and as such, was a subject of controversy.
Meanwhile, a random opinion conducted by our correspondent showed that most people in the commercial city have little or no time to go to the mall for shopping which according to them was luxury for the wealthy people and not the lower income earners and business men. “Oga, that thing no go work for Onitsha oh.
Who get time to go there to buy tomatoes or yam when you can pick it in Ose Okwuodu market at a cheaper price? They are just wasting their time. For me, I will not even go there unless I am going for site seeing” “Well, I think the idea of citing a shopping mall in the city is a wise one and a step in right direction”, said another trader “but my fear was that it may not survive competition.
You see Onitsha is a commercial city and everywhere in and around the town, you find open one market or the other. There is nothing you can find in that place that you cannot find along the street of Onitsha, even at a cheaper rate,” said a trader in the city.
“Another one is the level of literacy in the commercial city” a commercial motorcyclist said. “Most of the people here are traders that deal with one good or the other. They have all varieties of the commodity around them.
“There are no universities or other higher institutions either from where the students can come to make shopping like that one in Enugu State and the level of government institutions in Onitsha is quite low. I doubt if it will survive.” However the general opinion about the Shoprite is that the apathy already shown by the people and the investment made by the owners of the Shoprite could have been channelled into other ventures.
Source: https://newtelegraphonline.com/onitsha-shoprite-idles-away/
By Adedapo Adesanya
The domestic supply of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, from the Dangote Refinery increased by 64.4 percent in December 2025, contributing to an enhancement in Nigeria’s overall petrol availability.
This is according to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in its December 2025 Factsheet Report released on Thursday.
The downstream regulatory agency revealed that the private refinery raised its domestic petrol supply from 19.47 million litres per day in November 2025 to an average of 32.012 million litres per day in December, as it quelled any probable fuel scarcity associated with the festive month.
The report attributed the improvement to more substantial capacity utilisation at the Lagos-based oil facility, which reached a peak of 71 per cent in December.
The increased output from Dangote Refinery contributed to a rise in Nigeria’s total daily domestic PMS supply to 74.2 million litres in December, up from 71.5 million litres per day recorded in November.
The authority also reported a sharp increase in petrol consumption, rising to 63.7 million litres per day in December 2025, up from 52.9 million litres per day in the previous month.
In contrast, the domestic supply of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) known as diesel declined to 17.9 million litres per day in December from 20.4 million litres per day in November, even as daily diesel consumption increased to 16.4 million litres per day from 15.4 million litres per day.
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) supply recorded modest growth during the period, rising to 5.2 metric tonnes per day in December from 5.0 metric tonnes per day in November.
Despite the gains recorded by Dangote Refinery and modular refineries, the NMDPRA disclosed that Nigeria’s four state-owned refineries recorded zero production in December.
It said the Port Harcourt Refinery remained shut down, though evacuation of diesel produced before May 24, 2025, averaged 0.247 million litres per day. The Warri and Kaduna refineries also remained shut down throughout the period.
On modular refineries, the report said Waltersmith Refinery (Train 2 with 5,000 barrels per day) completed pre-commissioning in December, with hydrocarbon introduction expected in January 2026. The refinery recorded an average capacity utilisation of 63.24 per cent and an average AGO supply of 0.051 million litres per day
Edo Refinery posted an average capacity utilisation of 85.43 per cent with AGO supply of 0.052 million litres per day, while Aradel recorded 53.89 per cent utilisation and supplied an average of 0.289 million litres per day of AGO.
Total AGO supply from the three modular refineries averaged 0.392 million litres per day, with other products including naphtha, heavy hydrocarbon kerosene (HHK), fuel oil, and marine diesel oil (MDO).
The report listed Nigeria’s 2025 daily consumption benchmarks as 50 million litres per day for petrol, 14 million litres per day for diesel, 3 million litres per day for aviation fuel (ATK), and 3,900 metric tonnes per day for cooking gas.
Actual daily truck-out consumption in December stood at 63.7 million litres per day for petrol, 16.4 million litres per day for diesel, 2.7 million litres per day for ATK and 4,380 metric tonnes per day for cooking gas.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has introduced a comprehensive revision of minimum capital requirements for nearly all capital market operators, marking the most significant overhaul since 2015.
The changes, outlined in a circular issued on January 16, 2026, obtained from its website on Friday, replace the previous regime. Operators have been given until June 30, 2027, to comply.
The SEC stated that the reforms aim to strengthen market resilience, enhance investor protection, discourage undercapitalised operators, and align capital adequacy with the evolving risk profile of market activities.
According to the circular, “The revised framework applies to brokers, dealers, fund managers, issuing houses, fintech firms, digital asset operators, and market infrastructure providers.”
Some of the key highlights of the new reforms include increment of minimum capital for brokers from N200 million to N600 million while for dealers, it was raised to N1 billion from N100 million.
For broker-dealers, they are to get N2 billion instead of the previous N300 million, reflecting multi-role exposure across trading, execution, and margin lending.
The agency said fund and portfolio managers with assets above N20 billion must hold N5 billion, while mid-tier managers must maintain N2 billion with private equity and venture capital firms to have N500 million and N200 million, respectively.
There was also dynamic rule as firms managing assets above N100 billion must hold at least 10 per cent of assets under management as capital.
“Digital asset firms, previously in a regulatory grey area, are now fully covered: digital exchanges and custodians must maintain N2 billion each, while tokenisation platforms and intermediaries face thresholds of N500 million to N1 billion. Robo-advisers must hold N100 million.
“Other segments are also affected: issuing houses offering full underwriting services must hold N7 billion, advisory-only firms N2 billion, registrars N2.5 billion, trustees N2 billion, underwriters N5 billion, and individual investment advisers N10 million. Market infrastructure providers carry some of the highest obligations, with composite exchanges and central counterparties required to maintain N10 billion each, and clearinghouses N5 billion,” the SEC added.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The founder and chief executive of Austin Laz and Company Plc, Mr Asimonye Austin Lazarus Azubuike, has sold off about 52.24 million shares of the organisation.
The stocks were offloaded in 11 tranches at an average price of N4.36 per unit, amounting to about N227.8 million.
The transactions occurred between December 2025 and January 2026, according to a notice filed by the company to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday.
Business Post reports that Austin Laz is known for producing ice block machines, aluminium roofing, thermoplastics coolers, PVC windows and doors, ice cream machines, and disposable plates.
The firm evolved from refrigeration sales to diverse manufacturing since its incorporation in 1982 in Benin City, Edo State, though facing recent operational halts.
According to the statement signed by company secretary, Ifeanyi Offor & Associates, Mr Azubuike first sold 1.5 million units of the equities at N2.42, and then offloaded 2.4 million units at N2.65, and 2.0 million units at N2.65.
In another tranche, he sold another 2.0 million units at a unit price of N2.91, and then 5.0 million units at N3.52, as well as about 4.5 million at N3.87 per share.
It was further disclosed that the owner of the company also sold 9.0 million shares at N4.25, and offloaded another 368,411 units at N4.66, then in another transaction sold about 6.9 million units at N4.67.
In the last two transactions he carried out, Mr Azubuike first traded 10.0 million units equities at N5.13, with the last being 8.5 million stocks sold at N5.64 per unit.
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