- Frank Ovie Kokori made a distress call over his failing health status last month
- He breathed his last at a kidney treatment hospital in Warri, Delta State, in the early hours of today, Thursday
Former General Secretary of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, (NUPENG), Chief Frank Ovie Kokori is dead.
He was 80 years old.
Chief Frank Kokori breathed his last at a kidney treatment hospital in Warri, Delta State, in the early hours of today, Thursday.
One of his aides, who confirmed his death said he would want the family to formally break the news to the media.
“He passed on this night. I would want the family to break the news formally to the media.
“I am his aide but at this moment I am not to speak on this until the family issues a statement,” he said.
Also, NUPENG, while announcing Kokori’s demise in a statement by its President and General Secretary, Prince Williams Akporeha and Afolabi Olawale, respectively, described him as a dedicated defender, promoter and fighter for workers’ rights and democratic rights of the citizens.
The statement read: “The leadership of our great Union on behalf of the entire members of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), wishes to announce the news of the passing to eternal resting abode of our former distinguished General Secretary, Comrade Chief Frank Ovie Kokori, who passed away ni the early hours of Thursday 7th December, 2023.
“Late Comrade Frank Ovie Kokori was a well-known committed and dedicated defender, promoter and fighter for workers’ rights and democratic rights of the citizens.
“He spent a life of sacrifice to struggles for emancipation of the working class globally and enthronement of democratic rule in Nigeria.
“He spent years in prisons and severally brutalized in his struggles for not only the Trade Unions but in the struggles against military rule in Nigeria.
“His later years were spent nursing some of the vicious wounds inflicted on him in the course of those struggles yet like the great Warrior that he was, he still lived up to good age before he eventually surrendered to go home for a peaceful rest after those struggles for humanity.
“We love Comrade Frank Ovie Kokori but we as humans, we have to take consolations in the great and wonderful memories he left behind for us to cherish and celebrate.
“We write to express our deepest condolences and sympathy to the families and loved ones o f the late Elder Statesman.
“While the entire NUPENG family mourns the loss of a great labour icon, we also celebrate his remarkable life where he contributed to our collective struggles for the emancipation of the working people for greater good to all and sundry.
“Late Frank Ovie Kokori was also a beacon of democratic struggles in Nigeria, and he remained an advocate of democracy throughout his life.
“We take solace in the knowledge that Chief Frank Kokori has gone to be with his Maker and he is surely resting in the bosom of the Almighty God. May the soul of Chief Frank Kokori rest in peace.”
Kokori’s health relapsed on Monday, and the veteran labour leader was placed on life support.
Recall that Frank Ovie Kokori made a distress call over his failing health status last month.
He lamented that in spite of his key role in the growth of the nation’s democracy, he had been abandoned.
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