Frank Kokori, a former Secretary-General of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has cried out from his sickbed in a Warri hospital, Delta State.
Kokori, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state and elder statesman, who has been sick for a while resulting from a kidney-related ailment, told journalists in Warri on Thursday that he had been “abandoned and dying” as a result of which he decided to alert the general public and government.
According to Kokori, “I am dying in a hospital bed in Warri, I was admitted for a treatment at this private hospital in the oil city for a kidney-related ailment but I have been having a hard time paying the bills due to harsh economy and as a result I made a this call to the media to shame the leaders of the nation when I survived this ailment.
Kokori, a well-known unionist and leader during the General Sani Abacha’s military junta, said he remains a tough voice but his voice is now laden with excruciating pains.
Kokori alleged that NUPENG had abandoned him to his own fate in the hospital where air conditioners were switched off against him by the hospital management following shortages of diesel, lamenting that the idea of being abandoned “in a third class hospital in Warri by those who should cater for my wellbeing is appalling.
“Please do your best. I can come alive again but I just want the world to know that if I survive, I’ll shame the leaders of this country. Shame to them. How can Kokori be in a third class hospital?
“The people are trying their best because I know it’s diesel issue. The AC is off. Two of my foster children are here with me. I’ve sent one to meet the hospital management that they should do everything that the AC is switched on, that when I’m out, I’ll pay. That I’m dying. I have called on NUPENG that this is what they’ve done to their leaders. That NUPENG could not even take care of me. It’s sad. God bless everybody”
