Nigerian billionaire industrialist Abdulsamad Rabiu has seen his net worth surge by $2.2 billion in less than 30 days, driven largely by a strong rally in the shares of his listed companies, BUA Cement Plc and BUA Foods Plc.
Data tracked by Nairametrics from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index shows that Rabiu’s fortune rose from $11.8 billion as of March 1, 2026, to $14 billion at the time of filing this report.
The increase in his valuation reflects share price surge for his businesses, which have gained significantly this year in capital appreciation.
This reflects renewed investor confidence in his core businesses and a broader bullish sentiment in Nigeria’s equities market.
A breakdown
A major driver of this wealth increase is the performance of BUA Cement Plc (NGX: BUACEMENT), which closed trading on Friday, March 27, 2026, at N326.70 per share on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX).
The stock has recorded an 83% year-to-date gain, rising from N178.50 at the start of the year, and currently ranks 23rd on the NGX in terms of year-to-date performance.
- In the shorter term, BUACEMENT has also emerged as one of the top-performing stocks on the exchange, gaining 49% over the past four weeks alone—placing it sixth on the NGX over that period. The rally has significantly boosted Rabiu’s net worth, given his substantial ownership in the company.
According to the company’s 2025 financial report, Rabiu owns approximately 98% of BUA Cement directly and indirectly through affiliated entities.
The company remains Nigeria’s second-largest cement producer, making it a critical pillar of his industrial empire.
- Similarly, BUA Foods Plc has contributed to the billionaire’s rising wealth. The company’s shares closed at N798.00 on March 27, 2026.
- While relatively less active in trading compared to other large-cap stocks, BUA Foods recorded a total trading volume of 18 million shares valued at N13.8 billion between December 24, 2025, and March 27, 2026.
Within that period, the stock averaged 285,037 shares per session, with an average value of N220 million per trading day across 56,184 deals, ranking it 111th in terms of trading activity on the NGX.
Rabiu holds a controlling 93% stake in BUA Foods, according to its 2025 financial disclosures. The company is Nigeria’s second-largest pasta producer and a major player in the country’s food manufacturing sector.
Despite the strong showing of these publicly listed entities, other businesses within the BUA Group are not captured in the Bloomberg valuation due to limited publicly available financial data.
The index, however, factors in liabilities based on estimates of acquisition costs, insider transactions, taxes, market performance, and philanthropic activities.
What you should know
Nairametrics had earlier reported in February that Rabiu’s wealth was already on an upward trajectory. As of February 18, 2026, his net worth was estimated at $12.3 billion, reflecting renewed investor confidence in his publicly listed businesses and the resilience of Nigeria’s industrial sector.
- Attention has also gradually shifted to succession within the BUA Group, with Rabiu’s son, Isyaku Abdulsamad “Khalifa” Rabiu, increasingly taking on strategic roles in the business.
- Khalifa currently serves as Chief Officer for Global Procurement and Strategic Operations at BUA Foods, placing him at the centre of supply chain management, cost optimisation and strategic sourcing across the group’s food business.
- The group’s expansion into cement production was marked by strategic acquisitions, including the Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN) in 2009.
BUA Cement was listed on the Nigerian Exchange in January 2020, followed by BUA Foods in January 2022.
