₦airaland Forum

BUA Group on Saturday rewarded 510 employees with a total cash payout of ₦30 billion at its 2025 Night of Excellence and Long Service Awards, in what the company described as one of the biggest staff reward programmes ever carried out by a Nigerian private sector firm.*

The ceremony honoured workers whose service spans five years to more than four decades, celebrating long-term commitment, loyalty and exceptional performance across the Group’s operations.

Speaking at the event, BUA Founder and Executive Chairman, Abdul Samad Rabiu (CFR, CON), said the occasion was designed to recognise the people whose dedication helped build the company’s story over the years.

Rabiu traced BUA’s growth from “modest beginnings” about 36 years ago to becoming one of Nigeria’s most valuable listed enterprises, noting that its combined market capitalisation has climbed into the trillions of naira. He stressed, however, that the milestones were not achieved by capital or boardroom decisions alone, but by employees who stayed committed long before the results became visible.

According to him, the company’s progress from factories built to systems strengthened and obstacles overcome—reflects the contributions of workers who carried the vision and helped sustain the business through different phases of expansion.

As part of the 2025 awards, BUA disbursed the ₦30 billion to 510 recipients across long service and excellence categories. Due to time limits during the programme, only 41 top-tier awardees received their cheques and plaques on stage from the Chairman. These were the highest-value categories, with individual awards ranging from ₦100 million to ₦1 billion.

A breakdown of the on-stage awards showed 16 recipients got ₦100 million each, nine received ₦200 million each, seven received ₦250 million each, three took home ₦500 million each, while five workers received ₦1 billion each. There was also a special award presented to Kabiru Rabiu for what the company described as exceptional loyalty, leadership and long-standing contribution to BUA’s growth and stability, though the cash value of that category was not announced at the event.

BUA said other awardees had already received their plaques and cheques ahead of the ceremony, while the remaining recipients would get theirs at various plants and operational locations nationwide.

Rabiu described the cash gifts as symbolic, adding that financial rewards cannot fully capture decades of dedication, sacrifice and belief in the organisation’s mission. He also said the Group would continue to expand capacity, invest in advanced technology and deepen its presence across cement, food, sugar and infrastructure, insisting that employees would remain central to BUA’s long-term plans.

The Night of Excellence and Long Service Awards, BUA said, forms part of its internal culture built around shared prosperity and respect for people who drive the business.

The ceremony also drew notable dignitaries and industry leaders, including Aliko Dangote, Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, Minister of State for Finance Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite, and Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy Hannatu Musawa, alongside partners, customers and other well-wishers.

SmartPolician:
This is the way it should be. What's the essence of accumulating all the money when people who made it are paid peanuts?

Similarly, Elon Musk should start giving back to society like Bill Gates. I always say that if Gates wasn't giving back the way he does, he would probably be worth over $2 trillion by now.

jmoore:
The audacity to tell a man how to redistribute his wealth.

SmartPolician:
There's no audacity; it's common sense. Nobody takes wealth to the grave. He should use his wealth to touch humanity now that he can because he will eventually leave everything behind when he kicks the bucket.

jmoore:
Use google to learn about Elon Musk foundation. That's the common sense.

SmartPolician:
Elon Musk gives peanuts. He should learn from Bill Gates. That's my point.

yinkus6750:
And Aliko was present at the event.
I hope he emulates same gesture towards his workers.
Wealth made needs to be shared to those that made you.
BUA has been a good example through his foundation, donations and staff reward for service.
God bless Abdulsamad .

SpaceX:
Too much lies, all for show and camera, from over hype figure of 510 employees to 41. Keep deceiving yourselves

OdogwuAnambra:
To be rich in this world...try and be an employer of labour ! Create value and let people work for you

SpaceX:
Too much lies, all for show and camera, from over hype figure of 510 employees to 41. Keep deceiving yourselves

aminulive:
https://politicsnigeria.com/bua-disburses-30bn-to-staff-in-one-of-nigerias-largest-corporate-reward-programmes/

nedekid:
Loyal people, not people that will rundown your business for you as most Nigerians will do. If you check you will see 90% of the recepient of the money from this billionaire are northerners, those that have not "spoilt" or oversmart like our people from the south, people that will be loyal and not chopping you like ants. Thieves that no matter how much you pay them, it is that 10kobo they steal from you that is the sweetest, the fact they feel in their heads they over smarted you.
Our buses, the drivers will siphon half of the fuel to sell at below price after their tanks are filled up for the week, the other day we wanted to fix their a/Cs only to find out all their compressors had been ripped out of the engines, all of them claiming they met the buses like that. One replaced his battery with an old one, they will plan with valcanisers to rip off money. Our generators nko, last time we caught a buyer at our estate gate with 7pcs of 30liter kegs of diesel stolen from our premises, they had been doing that for ages, infact we were buying 1000-1500L of diesel per week, immediately we caught and sacked them, we started buying 1ce monthly or at worse 2ce. Supermarket nko, recently sacked some cashiers for giving customers personal accounts, I hear one even had a pos machine.
To be an employer of labour in naija takes guts, Nigerians from over smartness are the most difficult and criminal people to work with.
Kudos to alhaji for rewarding loyal staff.