Abdulsamad Rabiu, the Chairman of BUA Group in Nigeria, has been named the winner of the 2023 Man of the Year Leadership Excellence Awards.
This comes after Nigerians chose the billionaire over three other nominees in a seven-day online voting process for the Leadership Excellence Awards.
According to news reports, Rabiu received 568,247 votes, defeating other nominees such as Chief Allen Onyema, CEO of A A Rano Nigeria Limited, Alhaji Auwalu Rano, and Founder, Ebubechukwuzo Foundation, Aloysius Ikegwuonu, who received 478,117, 286,374 and 68,352 votes, respectively.
Rabiu will receive the award among the other winners of the other prize categories on November 4, 2023, in Abuja.
IgbereTV hosts the prestigious Leadership Excellence Awards (LEEX Awards) for the fifth year in a row. The award recognizes and honors outstanding contributions made by leaders in Nigeria’s governmental and business sectors.
It also recognizes and promotes great leaders and personalities whose contributions have made an effect in Nigeria’s political, social, and economic arenas.
The African Union Economic, Social, and Cultural Council (AU-ECOSOCC) supported the LEEX Awards in 2020, and the African Union Film Institute (AFI) in 2021.
Rabiu founded the BUA Group, a Nigerian conglomerate involved in cement manufacturing, sugar refining, and real estate. Through his foundation, the Abdul Samad Rabiu Initiative Africa (ASR Africa), the multi-billionaire is known for his charity on the African continent.
His recent 5.5 billion naira contribution to 22 universities and other educational institutions for infrastructure improvement is one such philanthropic move. The stipend was made possible by the ASR Tertiary Education Grants Scheme.
Rabiu was nominated for the ‘Man of the Year’ award category by Nigerians in the previous two years, but lost to Peter Obi in 2022 and Obi Cubana in 2021.
