BUA Donates N250m Administrative Building to UDUS College of Health Sciences
By Fahad Faruk Galadanchi
Nigerian billionaire businessman and Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, has donated a N250 million administrative building to the College of Health Sciences at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), through his philanthropic organisation, ASR Africa.
The facility, named the Abdul Samad Rabiu Administrative Block, was officially commissioned at a ceremony held within the College of Health Sciences, located in the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital complex.
The building comprises 20 offices for academic and administrative staff, including an office for the Head of Department, a panel room, staff restrooms and storage facilities.
ASR Africa commenced construction of the project in April 2024 under its Tertiary Education Grants Scheme, an initiative designed to support infrastructure development and improve learning and research facilities in Nigerian tertiary institutions.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Bashir Garba, described the donation as historic, noting that the facility had strengthened the College of Health Sciences, particularly during its accreditation assessment by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN).
Representing Abdul Samad Rabiu at the event, ASR Africa’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Ubon Udoh, disclosed that the project was among 30 grants awarded to 30 Nigerian universities under the foundation’s education intervention programme.
He explained that the institutions were assessed based on established criteria, adding that Usmanu Danfodiyo University performed highly in the foundation’s evaluation.
The grants, according to him, range from N250 million to N2 billion, supporting various infrastructure and development projects across participating universities.
The latest intervention in Sokoto follows a similar N250 million administrative building donated by ASR Africa to Al-Qalam University, Katsina, in July 2025.
Other projects undertaken by the foundation include a N1 billion Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre at the University of Maiduguri, a N310 million student hostel at the Federal University of Technology, Minna, and a N270 million sports complex at the University of Jos.
In the health sector, ASR Africa has also committed N2.5 billion each to an oncology and diagnostic centre in Kwara State, a mother and child hospital in Ogun State, and medical sciences infrastructure at Sokoto State University.
Rabiu also has longstanding business and philanthropic ties with Sokoto. BUA Cement Plc, which absorbed the former Cement Company of Northern Nigeria, operates a cement manufacturing plant at Kalambaina, near Sokoto metropolis. In 2021, he also donated N200 million to Sokoto State University.
Established in 2021, ASR Africa was founded by Rabiu with an annual commitment of $100 million to support sustainable development initiatives in Nigeria and other African countries, focusing on healthcare, education and social development.
Rabiu, 66, is the founder and chairman of BUA Group, a conglomerate with interests in cement, food, infrastructure and agriculture. He also controls publicly listed BUA Cement Plc and BUA Foods Plc.
According to Forbes’ 2026 World Billionaires List, Rabiu has an estimated net worth of $11.1 billion, making him Nigeria’s second-richest individual.
