A former general secretary of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Chief Frank Kokori, has died in the early hours of Thursday, coincidentally on the same day he was supposed to mark his 80th birthday.
Blueprint gathered that Kokori, an activist with the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), died of a kidney-related ailment at a private hospital in Warri, Delta state.
Kokori, whose death was confirmed by the Delta state government, gained prominence in the struggle for the validation of the annulled June 12, 1993, presidential election supposedly won by the late Chief Moshood Abiola.
Tinubu mourns
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has reacted to the death of Chief Kokori.
President Tinubu, who acknowledged the late Chief Kokori as “a thoroughbred activist, who surrendered his liberty in the fight for truth and justice,” also described him as “a brother in the June 12 struggle and an exemplary comrade.”
According to a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, the president condoled with the Kokori family, the civil society, the government, and the people of Delta state over the loss.
He described the former labour leader as “a man of conscience, highly principled, courageous.”
“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,” he said.
Tinubu, while praying for the repose of the soul of the deceased, encouraged those he left behind to take comfort in his legacy.
