Born two months before Nigeria’s independence, on the 4th of August, 1960 in Kano, to one of Northern Nigeria’s top business tycoons, Khalifah Isyaku Rabiu, not many would have guessed that the baby Abdulsamad would someday dwarf his father’s achievements by leaps.

Abdulsamad Isyaku Rabiu had his early education in north-western Nigeria before travelling to Columbus, Ohio to obtain his Business degree from Capital University.

He returned at the age of 24 years to oversee the family business, at a turbulent time when his father was being detained by the military administration over allegations of evading rice import duties. The young Rabiu would not be deterred but went on to weather through the challenges of the dwindling business and earn his own spot in the then uncertain business climate.

Within 4 years, he established BUA International Limited in 1988 for the purpose of trading in commodity trading like rice, edible oil, flour, and iron and steel.

Two years later, Rabiu had a major break when BUA was contracted to supply the government-owned Delta Steel Company with raw materials in exchange for finished iron products. With this windfall, the company expanded its steel operations, producing billets, importing iron ore, and constructing multiple rolling mills in Nigeria.

Some years later, Abdulsamad had repeatedly proven that he had a Midas touch in business, acquiring the largest edible oil processing company in Nigeria – Nigerian Oil Mills Limited. Some years later, two flour-milling plants – in Lagos and in Kano – had joined the number.

This set the stage for his later moves to break the eight-year monopoly in the Nigerian sugar industry, when he commissioned BUA sugar refinery, said to be the second-largest sugar refinery in sub-Saharan Africa. This was a terrain that was, hitherto, only played in by the likes of Aliko Dangote.

In another well-calculated business move, Rabiu acquired a controlling stake in a publicly-listed Cement Company in Northern Nigeria and began to construct a $900 million cement plant in Edo State, completing it in early 2015.

Rabiu is no stranger to the Forbes list of Africa’s richest, and even though he has had some years out of the list, the most recent Forbes 2020 list of Richest Nigerians in Africa pegs his net worth at $3.1 billion, courtesy of some dexterous business moves over the last couple of years.

The BUA foundation has been the vehicle through which Rabiu carries out most of his philanthropic gestures. Some of the projects carried out by the foundation include the construction of a 7,000-square-meter pediatric ward which was donated at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, as well as ambulances and medical supplies.

Earlier in the year, the foundation made a donation of N300 million to Sokoto, Edo and Ogun states to assist in the response to the pandemic, and also a N1 billion donation to the COVID-19 relief fund accounts fight the Coronavirus in Nigeria. There was also another donation of N200 million to Adamawa state government, and ambulances to several other states.

Rabiu also made a personal donation of N1 billion to support Nigeria’s response to the virus, and medical and emergency kits and supplies to 9 States in the country.

Rabiu’s sterling contributions and achievements are not lost on many, and he has received several recognition and awards including the 2016 Industrialist of the year award at the All Africa Business Leaders Award (AABLA) organised by CNBC Africa, Silverbird Extraordinary Business Achievement Award, and the prestigious Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) award.

His father, Khalifah Isyaku Rabiu passed on in 2018, just 5 months shy of 93 years. Having outperformed his father in business, it does not seem too ambitious to say that the mogul might just get to 120 years.

In that case, we would say he is halfway there. Cheers to Rabiu as he celebrates his 60th birthday in a very unostentatious style, since the rules of the pandemic do not permit large gatherings.

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) said there is another list of emergency contracts that were awarded to National Assembly members in 2017 and 2019. This list was not submitted to National Assembly following the recent probe of the NDDC.

This disclosure was made in a press statement by the NDDC earlier today which was signed by the commission’s Director for Corporate Affairs, Charles Odili. According to the statement, the initial list that was submitted by the Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, was actually compiled by the former management of the commission in 2018, not the minister himself.

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The statement by the NDDC went further to note that the Interim Management Committee of the Commission stands by the list which came from the files already in the possession of the forensic auditors.

“The Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Commission stands by the list, which came from files already in the possession of the forensic auditors. It is not an Akpabio list but the NDDC’s list. The list is part of the volume of 8,000 documents already handed over to the forensic auditors,” the statement said in parts.

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In the meantime, the NDDC has urged prominent indigenes of the Niger Delta, whose names appeared on that list, not to panic, because the NDDC is aware that their names were used to secure contracts. The ongoing forensic audit would help to unearth those behind those contracts, the NDDC said in the statement.

Furthermore, the commission disclosed that it released the list to expose committee chairmen in the National Assembly who used fronts to collect contracts from the NDDC, some of which were never executed. Interestingly, the list did not include the unique case of 250 contracts that were signed for and collected in one day by one person, ostensibly for members of the National Assembly.

While assuring that the forensic audit exercise is on course, the NDDC noted that the commission had positioned 185 media support specialists to identify the sites of every project captured in its books for verification by the forensic auditors.

READ MORE: NDDC Probe: Akpabio accuses NASS members of getting most of the commission’s contracts

The NDDC then enjoined members of the public not to be distracted or swayed by a lot of misinformation and falsehood that are being orchestrated by mischief makers, even as more of such will be expected by those opposed to the IMC.

It can be recalled that Akpabio, while appearing before the members of the house of representatives ad-hoc committee probing the N40 billion corruption allegation against the IMC of NDDC, said that most of the contracts that are being awarded at the commission were given to members of the national assembly.

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Not that likely, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, asked the minister to provide within 48 hours, the names of the legislators that benefitted from such contracts with full details or face legal action.

Senator Akpabio, in response to the ultimatum, sent an official letter to the Speaker, providing the names of the national assembly members that benefitted from such contracts.

Fast-growing transport/delivery startup, Plentywaka, has raised $300,000 pre-seed investment to facilitate its expansion plans.

According to a statement by the company which was sent to Nairametrics, the funding was led by EMFATO, Microtraction, and Niche Capital. It will help to facilitate that company’s planned expansion into the Federal Capital Territory Abuja and other Nigerian states.

More details: The funding will also be used to transform the transport system in Nigeria. Plentywaka will improve its mapping technology, especially now that it is kicking off activities in other states and the FCT.

While commenting on the investment and launch, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Johnny Enagwolor, said that Plentywaka is out to transform transportation in Nigeria by taking it one state at a time.

“Securing investment and expanding into Abuja within our first year, in the midst of a pandemic speaks volumes of the demand for the service we provide. We are excited to have investment partners on board that see and believe in our vision.

“An efficient transport system is fundamental to the prosperity of any city and we believe safe, convenient and comfortable travel should not just be for the few; but for everyone,” he said.

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Also commenting on the investment, Dayo Koleowo, a Partner at Microtraction, said:

“Plentywaka’s rapid growth since they launched Q3 last year has been tremendous so far. We are glad to be partnering with a very strong team that is passionate about providing convenience, safety, and comfort to everyday commuters. The distressful and uneasy experience by the majority of these commuters, especially in large cities is evident. We are backing the Plentywaka team to change that experience for commuters progressively by creating a transport system that is efficient.”

Plentywaka needs partners: In the meantime, Plentywaka said it is currently in search of partners who are willing to bring their vehicles on board by joining the Plentywaka Vehicle Partnership scheme.

The partnership involves Plentywaka working with individuals, corporates, and state governments to expand its technology and fleet in order to provide better transportation services.  Just like other cab-hailing services, registering a vehicle on the platform would provide the partners with an opportunity to earn extra income.

In view of the pandemic, the company has assured that all vehicles in its scheme would be properly fumigated and equipped in line with government regulations and to keep commuters and drivers safe with the Wakapurse which allows electronic payment.

The Backstory:  The e-bus hailing company, which was launched in September 2019, was funded by Crowdyvest. Since then, the company has built a platform of over 40,000 customers and recorded its first 100,000 rides in six months.

They also recently announced the availability of same-day delivery service to small businesses, as well as the logistics by Plentywaka and its Staff Bus Solutions.

The company first launched its services in Lagos and the success recorded so far has encouraged its decision to venture into other states. With the gaps seen in the country’s public transport system, the company is optimistic that it can provide a more reliable and efficient bus service.