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Abdul Samad Rabiu's BUA Cement has agreed to reinstate more than 400 truck drivers who were sacked following a protest at the company's operations in Okpella, Edo State, and will pay them three months of salary arrears covering January to March, after the Okuokpellagbe of Okpella, Michael Sado, brokered a settlement between the drivers and group management.
The monarch made the disclosure while briefing journalists in Benin on Wednesday, explaining that the intervention came after the dismissals and the subsequent shutdown of BUA Cement's transport operations in Okpella created significant economic hardship for the community.
The dispute broke out earlier this year when the drivers demanded inclusion in benefit distribution by the company's management. When they protested, BUA Cement sacked approximately 400 of them and shut down its entire transport operation in the area. The closure compounded unemployment and economic distress among local residents.
Sado said he led a high-powered delegation to meet directly with BUA Group chairman Rabiu, where the delegation appealed for reconsideration of the decision to let the workers go.
"When the drivers protested, management sacked about 400 of them and shut down the entire transport system, which created serious economic challenges," the monarch said. "We pleaded with the chairman, and after deliberations, we all agreed that the 400 drivers should be reinstated. Before now, management had concluded they would not be recalled, but the intervention yielded positive results."
Beyond the reinstatement, Rabiu also agreed to clear the outstanding wages. "I also pleaded with him to pay their arrears from January to March, which he graciously granted," Sado said.
The meeting between the royal delegation and Rabiu also touched on broader development commitments to the Okpella community. The monarch disclosed that BUA Cement had long promised to build a hospital in the area and that designs are now finalised, with a groundbreaking ceremony expected soon.
Rabiu's BUA Group is one of Nigeria's largest industrial conglomerates, with cement, sugar, flour and real estate interests spanning the country. BUA Cement, listed on the Nigerian Exchange, operates plants in several states including Edo, where the Okpella plant is a significant employer and anchor of the local economy. The Okpella community's economic fortunes are closely tied to the plant's operations, which makes any disruption to its transport network an immediately felt hardship across the area.
Sado used the occasion to frame the resolution as a model for addressing community and corporate disputes, noting that conflict was inevitable but that the willingness to resolve differences peacefully determined the outcome.
"What is important is not the absence of crisis, but the willingness to resolve issues and move forward for the collective good," he said.
