Warri – Ahead of the 2023 general elections, elder statesman and former general secretary of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Chief Frank Ovie Kokori, has called on Northern leaders of the All Progressives Congress APC, to eschew a Muslim – Muslim ticket urging the Northern leaders and governors to be instrumental to Tinubu’s easy victory come 2023.

The septuagenarian made the appeal following the emergence of Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu as the APC presidential candidate in a landslide victory last week at the Eagles Square, Abuja.

The foremost labour leader, while calling on the Northern leaders to bear with the party’s presidential flag bearer in the forthcoming elections,said,

“They should bear with him and not impose the Muslim ticket on him.

“They should take that as a sacrifice because religion and ethnicity have become a major issue in this country.

“He should be given a free hand to pick a noble Northern Christian and support that Christian.

Chief Kokori, who is a Chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC), opined that, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, is the only living politician capable of breaking the cabal holding Nigeria down.
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“Tinubu winning this election is hallelujah to me! He is the only strong personality who can break the cabal that has been in charge of this country all the years of Buhari’s rule,” he asserted.

He identified the cabal as the cause of the socio-economic woes bedeviling the country in the past seven years, saying although President Muhammadu Buhari is a good man, he allowed persons with self-serving interest around him to derail his focus.

“The joy I have on the result of the primary election is because I knew that among all the aspirants, Tinubu is the only one who will have the guts to step on toes.

“He is the only person who can take on the cabal that has put Nigeria in hostage for the past seven years. He broke the myth surrounding the cabal.

“Buhari is a good man, no doubt about that, but he is not in touch with the people in the country and with what is happening in this country because he surrounded himself with a cabal that is so ruthless and who always struggle for their personal aggrandizement to the extent that they monetize public positions in this country.

“He gave all his power to his cabal and as a result, those people without connection in the country are not able to be in position of power.

“Most of the problems we have in this nation are not being solved because of the same reason. Nobody should pretend; we all know that most of the positions in the country were being monetized and sold out by the cabals.

“Nigeria is in a state where 300 students can be kidnapped at a go; a train load of passengers can be hijacked and people worshipping in the Church can just be killed at will. Life has become so cheap and brutal.

“Is this still not the same Nigeria some of us grew up in in the 60s and 70s? This generation of Nigerians pray everyday for a better life.

“So many Nigerians are streaming abroad. I always shed tears when I see my people, the young Africans dying in the deserts and high seas trying to crossover to other countries.

“Nigeria was the hope of Africa and we enjoyed it up till the 70s to the early 80s. When we fought for freedom and democracy, we thought that after gaining what we fought for, our country would be a better place for everybody.

“But right from the days of Obasanjo, it has been oppression and victimization, exploitation by the same people we struggled to put in power.

“I don’t think there’s a better candidate than Tinubu; who can take on the cabal and rescue Nigeria finally,” he averred.

On the health status of the former governor of Lagos State which has been a topic of debate, among political watchers, Kokori said, there was no cause for alarm inasmuch as a terminal ailment is out of the equation.

“I was worried about his health, but I know that once a person crosses the age of 50, he tends to face different health challenges and that is normal in the whole world.

“Buhari himself had this challenge but today, he is one of the fittest persons. So, his health challenges should not be a problem so long he doesn’t have a terminal disease,” he noted.

The APC elder in Delta State, who expressed joy at the emergence of the APC flagbearer, said since Nigeria has been fair to him (Tinubu), he should reciprocate by lifting Nigeria from the doldrums.

According to him, “Nigeria has been fair to him so he should return the fairness and lead her back to her glorious days. I’m happy that I’m alive to see this day and I will continue to give him any assistance he desires. He should use the remaining time of his life to save the country.”

“The last hope of this country lies with the APC government and I thank Buhari for making the last primaries free and fair without succumbing to blackmail.

“I pray for our country and I pray that Tinubu will not forget where he is coming from as God has given him this opportunity to put his name in gold,” he admonished.