Erstwhile Secretary General of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, Chief Frank Ovie Kokori, has said Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, was the only aspirant under the party’s platform with the capacity to take on the cabal that has held Nigeria hostage for the past seven years.

Kokori who was reacting to the victory of Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu at APC Presidential primary, said; “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”.

While blaming the cause of the socio-economic woes bedeviling the country in the past seven years on the cabal, he said “President Muhammadu Buhari is a good man, but 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”.

On Tinubu’s health status,  Kokori said; “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”.

Continuing, he said: “Nigeria has been fair to Tinubu 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.”

Enjoining Northern leaders and governors to be instrumental to Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 election, Kokori told them to eschew a Muslim – Muslim ticket, saying; “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.

“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.”