{"id":9889,"date":"2023-12-07T15:25:34","date_gmt":"2023-12-07T15:25:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/?p=9889"},"modified":"2023-12-07T15:26:28","modified_gmt":"2023-12-07T15:26:28","slug":"demise-of-famous-labour-leader-frank-kokori-sparks-tributes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/2023\/12\/07\/demise-of-famous-labour-leader-frank-kokori-sparks-tributes\/","title":{"rendered":"Demise of Famous Labour Leader, Frank Kokori, Sparks Tributes"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Joy Innocent<\/strong><\/p>\n

The passing of Chief Frank Kokori, the General Secretary of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), has stirred reactions and reflections on the immense contributions of the labor leader, who battled a kidney-related ailment over the past month.<\/p>\n

Kokori’s Personal Assistant, Atawada Oke, informed journalists that the stalwart labor leader succumbed early Thursday after a decline in his health on Monday, during which he was placed on life support and unable to interact with those around him.<\/p>\n

Dignitaries, including Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and former Deputy President of the Senate Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, visited Kokori in response to a distress call he made from his hospital bed on November 9, expressing feelings of neglect and abandonment despite his significant contributions to the democratic growth of the country.<\/p>\n

Chief Frank Kokori played a pivotal role in advocating for the validation of the annulled June 12, 1993, presidential election, which was won by the late Chief Moshood Abiola. The annulment by military junta Ibrahim Babangida sparked nationwide outrage and protests.<\/p>\n

As the leader of NUPENG, Kokori, along with the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), organized nationwide strikes that paralyzed the oil industry, forcing Babangida to face significant pressure to reverse the annulment decision.<\/p>\n

Beyond his involvement in the oil workers’ strike, Kokori actively participated in pro-democracy activities, rallying support for democracy and the recognition of Abiola’s victory. Despite facing challenges, including detention, he remained undeterred in his commitment to advocating for democratic ideals.<\/p>\n

Social media was flooded with tributes to Kokori, acknowledging his role as a dogged unionist and fighter for democracy. Bolu @essentialbolu lamented, “Frank Kokori of NUPENG, who I remember fondly in my pre-teen years while reading newspapers as a dogged unionist and fighter, has passed on. He died at a time Nigeria needed his kind the most.”<\/p>\n

Dr. Ali Bakari @aleebakari reminisced about Kokori’s sacrifice during pro-democracy struggles, stating, “Kokori succumbed to injuries inflicted on him during pro-democracy struggles. NUPENG mourns.”<\/p>\n

Senator Shehu Sani @ShehuSani paid tribute, highlighting Kokori’s crucial role in the struggle for the restoration of democratic rule. He noted, “Kokori’s activism fertilized the seeds of Nigeria’s freedom. Kokori died unappreciated by the country and the democracy he fought and sacrificed his life for. May his soul rest in peace. Ameen.”<\/p>\n

Kokori’s strength and vigor during the June 12 struggle solidified his status as a hero and earned admiration. As Nigeria mourns his passing, his legacy as a relentless advocate for democracy and workers’ rights remains etched in the nation’s history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Joy Innocent The passing of Chief Frank Kokori, the General Secretary of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), has stirred reactions and reflections on the immense contributions of the labor leader, who battled a kidney-related ailment over the past month. Kokori’s Personal Assistant, Atawada Oke, informed journalists that the stalwart […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9746,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-9889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-featured"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9889"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9891,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9889\/revisions\/9891"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}