News - August 24, 2023

Multi-Billionaire Abdul Samad Rabiu Wins Man of the Year Award for 2023

Lois Agada August 24, 2023

3 min read

Nigerian business mogul and Chairman of BUA Group, Abdulsamad Rabiu, has emerged winner of the 2023 Man of the Year Leadership Excellence Awards.

This comes as Nigerians voted the billionaire ahead of three other nominees in a seven-day Leadership Excellence Awards voting via online platforms.

Newsmen report that Rabiu polled a total of 568,247 votes to defeat other nominees including Chairman of Air Peace, Chief Allen Onyema, CEO of A A Rano Nigeria Limited, Alhaji Auwalu Rano, and Founder, Ebubechukwuzo Foundation, Aloysius Ikegwuonu, who polled 478,117; 286,374; and 68,352 votes respectively.

The award will be presented to Rabiu alongside other winners of the various award categories on the 4th of November 2023 to be held at the Abuja. (NAN)

Who organises the LEEX Awards?

The prestigious Leadership Excellence Awards (LEEX Awards), the fifth in a row, is organised annually by IgbereTV. The award recognises and honours the outstanding impacts of leaders in both the public and private sectors in Nigeria.

It also promotes outstanding leaders and personalities, whose impacts have been felt in Nigeria’s political, social and economic spheres.

The LEEX Awards were endorsed in 2020 by the African Union Economic, Social and Cultural Council (AU-ECOSOCC), and in 2021 by the African Union Film Institute (AFI).

Meet Abdul Samad Rabiu

Rabiu is the founder of BUA Group, a Nigerian conglomerate active in cement production, sugar refining and real estate. The multi-billionaire is recognised for his philanthropy across the African continent, through his foundation, the Abdul Samad Rabiu Initiative Africa (ASR Africa).

One such philanthropic act is the recent 5.5 billion naira grant he gave to 22 universities and other tertiary institutions for infrastructural development. The grant came under the ASR Tertiary Education Grants Scheme.

Rabiu was equally nominated for the ‘Man of the Year award category by Nigerians during the last two editions but lost out to Peter Obi in 2022 and Obi Cubana in 2021.