ABDULSAMAD RABIU COMPLETES BANANA ISLAND MANSION

The exclusive haven of the wealthy and powerful, Banana Island, Ikoyi, Lagos, is set to welcome its newest resident. Sources have confirmed authoritatively that Abdulsamad Rabiu, the billionaire owner of BUA Group, has just completed a jaw-dropping mansion in the private estate and is all set to move in. Those who have been there say Abdulsamad must have spent a couple of billions to put up the wondrous edifice. This is however not a surprise to those who know him intimately or remotely. Rated by the American financial publication, Forbes, as one of the world’s richest men, his BUA group, which started business in the late 80s as a private company, is one of Nigeria’s largest conglomerates specializing in the importation and marketing of iron and steel, shipping, port concessions, real estate and agricultural and industrial chemicals among others. Over the years, the company has diversified into a wide range of sectors including oil and gas and shipping. He also served as Chairman, Bank of Industry and is known for his philanthropic activities.

Ageless fashionista and one of high society’s most enduring names and faces, Sisi Abah Folawiyo of the Labanella Fashion fame, has inadvertently broken the hearts of many of her friends and social butterflies. Sisi Abah who clocks 75 on July 22nd has postponed indefinitely the party scheduled to hold in her honour. However, her son, Segun Awolowo, hosted a special prayer in her honour yesterday. No reason was given for the postponement despite the elaborate plans that had been put in place. Money could never have been a factor. After all, she is the widow of billionaire industrialist, Wahab Iyanda Folawiyo, whose businesses, spanning several lucrative sectors, are still a force in the Nigerian economy. Easy-going and matriarchal in comportment and carriage and character, she has never been heard to have a quarrel with any of her step-children who sit atop their father’s businesses. Her