Nigerian billionaire businessman, philanthropist and chairman/founder of BUA Group, Abdulsamad Rabiu, has emerged the ‘Man of Year’ in the 2023 Leadership Excellence Awards (5th LEEX Awards).
In a Nationwide 7-day online poll monitored by the News Agency of Nigeria, Rabiu polled a total of 568,247 votes to defeat other nominees including Chief Allen Onyema, Chairman, Air Peace; Alhaji Auwalu Abdullahi Rano, Chief Executive Officer, A.A Rano Nigeria Limited and Aloysius Ikegwuonu (aka Bishop), Founder, Ebubechukwuzo Foundation; who polled 478,117; 286,374; and 68,352 votes respectively.
The prestigious Leadership Excellence Awards (LEEX Awards), the fifth in a row, is organised annually by IgbereTV, the popular online community TV. It recognises and honours the outstanding impacts of leaders across both the public and private sectors in Nigeria.
LEEX Awards also promotes outstanding leaders and personalities whose impacts have been felt in Nigeria’s political, social and economic spheres. The Award also applauds excellence, achievements, performance, humanitarian activities and philanthropy.
Born 4th August, 1960, in modern day Kano State, Rabiu is an illustrious businessman, who is widely known and recognised for his philanthropy across the African continent, through his foundation, the Abdul Samad Rabiu Initiative Africa (ASR Africa). Rabiu was equally nominated for the ‘Man of the Year’ award category by Nigerians during the last two editions but lost out to Mr. Peter Obi in 2022 and Obi Cubana in 2021.
Abdul Samad Rabiu recently came to the aid of Nigerian educational system with a 5.5Billion NAIRA grant for infrastructural development to 22 Universities and other tertiary institutions. The grant is coming under the ASR Tertiary Education Grants Scheme.
NAN recalls that the new recipients brought to 30 the number of Nigerian higher institutions that have benefited from the scheme. Before the new set, eight Universities in Nigeria had benefited from the Scheme, receiving billions of Naira in grants with some of their targeted projects nearing completion.
The LEEX Awards was proudly endorsed in 2020 by the African Union Economic, Social and Cultural Council (AU-ECOSOCC), and in 2021 by the African Union Film Institute (AFI).
The prestigious ‘Man of the Year’ Award will be presented to Rabiu alongside other winners of the various award categories on November 4, 2023 in a grand ceremony to be held at the Congress Hall, Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.
