Abdulsamad Rabiu Gains $2.2 Billion as BUA Stocks Rally

Nigerian billionaire industrialist Abdulsamad Rabiu has seen his net worth surge by $2.2 billion in less than 30 days. This significant increase is largely attributed to a strong rally in the shares of his listed companies, BUA Cement Plc and BUA Foods Plc.

Data tracked from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index shows Rabiu’s fortune rose from $11.8 billion as of March 1, 2026, to $14 billion by March 30, 2026. The increase in his valuation reflects the substantial share price gains for his businesses in capital appreciation this year.

This surge in wealth indicates renewed investor confidence in Rabiu's core businesses and a broader bullish sentiment in Nigeria’s equities market.

BUA Stocks Drive Wealth Surge

A primary driver of this wealth increase is the performance of BUA Cement Plc (NGX: BUACEMENT). The stock closed trading on Friday, March 27, 2026, at N326.70 per share on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX). Year-to-date, BUACEMENT has recorded an 83% gain, rising from N178.50 at the start of the year.

In the shorter term, BUACEMENT has emerged as one of the top-performing stocks on the exchange, gaining 49% over the past four weeks alone. This performance places it sixth on the NGX over that period. Rabiu holds approximately 98% of BUA Cement directly and indirectly through affiliated entities, according to the company’s 2025 financial report.

BUA Foods Plc has also contributed to the billionaire’s rising wealth. The company’s shares closed at N798.00 on March 27, 2026. Between December 24, 2025, and March 27, 2026, BUA Foods recorded a total trading volume of 18 million shares valued at N13.8 billion. Within this period, the stock averaged 285,037 shares per session, with an average value of N220 million per trading day across 56,184 deals.

Rabiu holds a controlling 93% stake in BUA Foods, according to its 2025 financial disclosures. While these publicly listed entities have shown strong performance, other businesses within the BUA Group are not captured in the Bloomberg valuation due to limited publicly available financial data.

Market Performance and Bond Listing

Nigerian stocks experienced a slight dip of 0.12% last week, primarily due to profit-taking in banking stocks. Despite this, investor confidence remains substantial, with the market recording a 29.1% yield so far as the first quarter of 2026 concludes.

Analysts at Meristem Securities expect the market to maintain its positive trend, anticipating that any profit-taking will be mild and unlikely to alter the market’s upward direction. They noted that no immediate risks are likely to disrupt the prevailing bullish sentiment.

In a separate development, FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited has approved the listing of Champion Breweries Plc’s N30 billion Series 1, 5-Year, 19.50% Senior Unsecured Fixed Rate Bond. This listing is under its N45 billion Bond Issuance Programme.

The approval enables Champion Breweries to deepen its access to long-term funding through the Nigerian debt capital market. The bond issuance comes as Champion Breweries reported a 108% surge in profit before tax to N2.65 billion in 2025. The company also previously launched a N42 billion public offer to fund the acquisition of the Bullet brand portfolio.

The N30 billion bond issuance, sponsored by Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria Limited, highlights the growing role of the domestic bond market in financing corporate expansion across key sectors of the Nigerian economy.