APC Chieftain Coker Empowers 600 Lagos Island Residents with Dangote Refinery Shares
About 600 residents of Lagos Island Local Government Area have become prospective shareholders in the Dangote Refinery through an initiative by a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Biodun Coker.
The initiative, tagged “From APC Membership to Dangote Refinery Share Ownership,” will see beneficiaries from political wards and groups across the council receive between 10 and 20 shares each from a total of 10,000 shares.
Addressing the beneficiaries at the symbolic presentation of the share certificates, the convener, Mr. Biodun Coker, said the initiative was a departure from the regular distribution of items and foodstuffs as a form of empowerment to party members and residents.
According to him, the inspiration behind purchasing Dangote shares for the beneficiaries was to promote financial literacy and provide an investment that would benefit them for years.
He disclosed that he was happy to hear Alhaji Aliko Dangote say that he wanted ordinary Nigerians to be part of the expansion of his project, assuring the beneficiaries that the value of their shares would multiply in due course.
Coker stressed that the initiative was also designed to directly reward party members for their sustained loyalty and sacrifices over the years.
In his goodwill message, a chieftain of the party in Lagos Island, Chief Babajide Damazio, applauded the ingenuity of the initiative, saying he was glad to be part of the event.
He described Biodun Coker as a role model and inspiration to youths in the area and thanked him for committing substantial resources to financing the project.
Also speaking, one of the apex leaders in the council, Alhaji A.G. Sadiq, described the initiative as a lifetime investment for the beneficiaries, while urging them to return to their polling wards and deliver their votes to all the candidates of the party, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Dr. Kadri Hamzat, during the 2027 general elections.
Earlier, the Director of the Biodun Coker Foundation, Mr. Lekan Adeleke, said the initiative was a rethinking of empowerment advocacy, aimed at ensuring that every family member was significantly rewarded for supporting the party as it mobilises at the grassroots.
He further explained that the bold and courageous move represented a symbol of shared prosperity for their contributions to the party, adding that they had become shareholders in one of the largest refineries in the world.
The Director of the Biodun Coker Foundation noted that the initiative marked the beginning of financial freedom for residents of Lagos Island.
According to him, Mr. Biodun Coker had in the past impacted positively on the lives of residents through a Computer/ICT Literacy Programme that empowered over 1,000 residents, a Public School Initiative through which equipment was donated to Holy Trinity Primary School, an HMO policy for over 1,000 residents, and capacity-building programmes for political leaders and security personnel to improve the safety of lives and property in the area.
While highlighting the benefits of the shares, financial experts, Akindele Ogundepo and Ifeoluwa Akinmade, advised the beneficiaries to invest in their future rather than spend all their earnings unnecessarily.
They also cautioned against waiting until they became wealthy before investing in or subscribing to shares.
Some of the beneficiaries, who expressed their excitement, said they looked forward to receiving dividends from their investments in the coming years.
