“A Renewed Commitment To Our Great Nation” – BUA Chairman Abdul Samad Rabiu On Being Named LEADERSHIP Person Of The Year

Abdul Samad Rabiu, chairman of BUA Group, has described his naming as LEADERSHIP Newspapers Group’s Person of the Year 2026 as a “profoundly gratifying” recognition, pledging that the honour would reinforce his commitment to service and contributions to Nigeria.

The philanthropist, who is due to receive the award in December, said he was “deeply honoured, humbled and immensely delighted” to have been selected for the prestigious recognition.

“To be considered worthy of this prestigious recognition among so many eminently qualified and distinguished personalities is both humbling and profoundly gratifying,” the business leader said.
Adding, “I accept this exceptional honour with immense gratitude and a renewed commitment to service, excellence and meaningful contributions to our great nation.”

The recognition comes against the backdrop of Rabiu’s emergence as one of Nigeria’s leading industrialists, with BUA Group expanding across manufacturing, food production, infrastructure and other strategic sectors.

LEADERSHIP’s citation described the King of commerce as an industrialist who has continued to invest and expand despite Nigeria’s difficult operating environment, with BUA’s businesses becoming significant players in the country’s real economy.

Founded by the definition of good business practice in 1988, BUA has developed from its early trading activities into a diversified industrial group. Rabiu is also chairman of BUA Foods Plc, while BUA Cement remains one of the country’s major cement manufacturers.

The financial performance of the group’s listed businesses provides some indication of the scale behind the industrial platform.

BUA Foods reported revenue of N1.77 trillion for the 2025 financial year, up 16 percent from N1.53 trillion in 2024. Profit after tax rose 95 percent to N518.4 billion from N266 billion, while gross profit increased to N737.26 billion.

The company also proposed a N28 per share dividend, representing a 115 percent increase from the previous year.

BUA Cement recorded an equally significant improvement in 2025. Its profit after tax rose 381.7 percent to N356.04 billion from N73.91 billion in 2024, while revenue increased 35 percent to N1.18 trillion. Gross profit more than doubled to N604.2 billion.

The cement business also strengthened its balance sheet during the year, with cash and cash equivalents increasing to N280.4 billion from N84.7 billion, while non-current bank borrowings declined to N313.1 billion from N444.8 billion.

For the King of commerce, however, the business philosophy surrounding BUA has increasingly extended beyond financial returns to questions of local production, industrial capacity and social investment.

Speaking on BUA Foods’ 2025 performance, the founder said the company was “not only growing, but scaling with discipline,” adding that it was “building capacity, deepening local production, and delivering consistent value to shareholders.” That emphasis on scale and local production has also been reflected in BUA Cement’s expansion plans.

The company said additional capacity projects were progressing, with installed capacity expected to reach 20 million tonnes per annum as projects including the Ososo Line-1 and Sokoto regasification plant advance.

Away from the corporate balance sheet, the influential Nigerian has also developed a distinctive philanthropic platform through the Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa Initiative, popularly known as ASR Africa.

The initiative operates around an annual $100 million pledge directed towards health, education and social development, with the organisation describing it as one of the largest private philanthropic commitments of its kind by an individual in Africa.

The model reflects Rabiu’s stated preference for interventions that support public institutions and address development gaps rather than philanthropy being treated solely as charitable giving.

ASR Africa has supported projects spanning hospitals, universities, sports facilities and other social infrastructure. In 2026, for instance, the initiative reported the commissioning of an upgraded 60-bed reference hospital for the Nigeria Customs Service in Bauchi, while its programmes have also included support for women-led businesses and professional development.

The initiative’s stated philosophy is captured in Rabiu’s own description of its purpose: “We pledge to continue to do what we can to support ongoing efforts by various governments to bridge the development divide across Africa. This is my promise. This is the goal of ASR AFRICA.”

That combination of industrial expansion and structured philanthropy has become an important part of the leading businessman’s public profile.

His recognition by LEADERSHIP therefore comes at a time when his business interests are generating substantial earnings while his philanthropic platform is deploying resources into sectors such as health, education and social development.

The BUA group founder said he was particularly grateful to LEADERSHIP’s management and editorial board for the recognition.

“My sincere appreciation goes to the management and editorial board of LEADERSHIP Newspapers Group for this distinguished recognition,” he stated, with the assurance, “By God’s grace, I look forward with great pleasure to receiving this prestigious award in person in December 2026.”

He concluded: “I am truly honoured, deeply humbled and immensely grateful.”