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Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated billionaire industrialist Abdul Samad Rabiu on his reappointment as president of the France-Nigeria Business Council.
Rabiu is the founder and CEO of BUA Group, one of Africa’s fastest growing industrial conglomerates.
French President Emmanuel Macron reappointed Rabiu to the role during the July meeting of the France-Nigeria Business Council in Paris.
In response, Buhari praised the billionaire for his pivotal role in advancing the council’s objectives and maintaining the trust and confidence of its members.
He also praised Rabiu for the council’s success in pushing forward with partnerships since its inception despite the slow global recovery from COVID-19.
These partnerships include plans by several of Nigeria’s largest banks to open subsidiaries in France and BUA’s partnership with the French company Axens to build a 200,000 barrel-per-day refinery in Akwa Ibom.
Buhari assured the billionaire businessman of his unwavering support for the council, as his administration seeks to attract further foreign direct investment.
The Nigerian president also stressed the importance of forging strategic alliances to improve France-Nigeria commercial relations.
Rabiu’s BUA Group has interests in food production, manufacturing, and infrastructure.
He is one of the continent’s wealthiest businessmen, with a $7-billion net worth, mostly derived from his ownership of publicly traded companies BUA Cement and BUA Foods.
Last week, Rabiu met with Senegalese President Macky Sall in Dakar, Senegal’s capital.
During the meeting, the two men discussed efforts to strengthen intra-African economic ties in light of today’s soaring energy and food prices.
Rabiu emphasized the importance for Africa to look inward, add value to its commodities, and increase production to ensure food security on the continent.
In May, BUA Foods received the first of two shipping vessels to supplement its sugar export operations to West Africa.
The delivery of the Mitsubishi-built vessel will be critical to the group’s strategic expansion plans, enhancing the group’s ability to deliver more refined sugar quickly and sustainably.
