President Bola Tinubu, Donald Etiebet and others have mourned the demise of Frank Kokori, former Secretary-General of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG).
His personal assistant, Atawada Barry Oke, confirmed that Kokori died at 80 years in the early hours of Thursday.
Tinubu said he received the news of Kokori with shock, and described the late elder statesman as a foremost figure in the June 12 struggle.
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The president who spoke through his media aide, Ajuri Ngelale, however, condoled with his family, the civil society, the government, and the people of Delta State over the deeply painful loss.
Tinubu described the former labour leader as a man of conscience; highly principled, courageous, and true.
“Frank Kokori was a thoroughbred democrat and activist. He fought for democracy at a great personal cost. He surrendered his liberty to fight for truth and justice. He was the finest among reformers and champions of civil rights in Nigeria.
“He was a brother in the June 12 struggle. He was uncompromising, unbending, and irrepressible. He was an exemplary comrade,” the president stated.
President Tinubu, while praying for the repose of the soul of the deceased, encouraged those he left behind to take comfort in his peerless legacy.
Kokori was enigma
Chief Don Obot Etiebet, a former Minister of Petroleum, also mourned Chief Kokori, who had reportedly died from a protracted illness that was partly kidney-related.
Reacting to the demise of the trade unionist. Etiebet, who was petroleum minister when Kokori was NUPENG General Secretary and a friend of Kokori, said: “Oh, this is a big loss to the Nigerian struggle for peace, unity, equity, development and democratic norms.
“Chief Frank Kokori was an enigma and gave NUPENG the teeth to bite, providing sources of decent living to the low-income citizens in the petroleum industry.
“His mixture of unionism with politics was in the best interest of the nation to bring justice to the land.
“May his soul rest in peace.
“May God, the Almighty, give the family he left behind the grace to bear this irreparable loss with fortitude.”
Kokori had led the struggle for justice and the sanctity of the ballot box following the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
He and others had fought to have the outcome of the poll, which gave Chief MKO Abiola victory, revalidated.
Name A Monument After Kokori — Mitee
Similarly, former president, Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), Ledum Mitee, described the death of Kokori as a loss to the entire nation, urging the Federal Government to name a monument after him.
“It’s a sad loss not just to the labour movement and all who stand for the struggle for justice but the entire nation. This was a man who gave his life for the service of humanity and suffered for it.”
Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, former Deputy President of the Senate, said his indefatigable fighting spirit and sacrifice for the enthronement of constitutional governance are contributions that are indelible in the history of the advent of the Fourth Republic in Nigeria.
