Abdul Samad Rabiu, Founder and Chairman, BUA Group, has been chosen to chair the France-Nigeria Business Council, a private sector initiative to improve business relations between the two countries.
Currently, Rabiu is the CEO of a food and infrastructure conglomerate in Nigeria with extensive holdings in important economic areas around the country.
The news of his appointment came weeks after the designation of Rabiu as the Chairman of the France Nigeria Investment Club by Franck Riester, France’s Minister for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness in April.
He expressed his gratitude to French President Emmanuel Macron for his support and for re-appointing both him and Jean Haas of Relais (France) to their respective positions as the council’s president and head of the secretariat.
Aliko Dangote of Dangote Industries, Gilbert Chagoury of Chagoury Group, Mike Adenuga of Globacom and Conoil, Tony Elumelu, Chairman of UBA & Heirs Holdings, and Herbert Wigwe, CEO of Access Bank are the other Nigerian members of the newly-established council.
The council also includes representatives from the biggest French corporations, such as Dassault, Danone, Axens, Ponticelli, and Total Energies.
In conjunction with the Business France Summit in Versailles, France, the Inauguration event was conducted in Paris.
He also expressed gratitude to Macron for selecting him as the inaugural president of the newly established council, and he promised to exploit the opportunity to improve economic possibilities for both sides.
President Macron congratulated the BUA Chairman and newly elected president of the council for their support of French companies, which resulted in a collaboration for BUA’s brand-new refinery with a capacity of 200,000 barrels per day.
Additionally, he promised that his government would help improve communication between the existent Nigerian enterprises and their French counterparts.
