In 10 years, Nigeria’ll be China of Africa —Kokori

•Says issues raised by Tinubu on Ondo election should be looked into

Former secretary general of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Chief Frank Ovie Kokori, has declared that if Nigerians can rally round President Mohammadu Buhari, the country will assume the status of China in the next 10 years.

This is just as the nationalist called on the leadership of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) to look into issues raised by national leader of the party, Senator Bola Tinubu, as regards the party’s governorship primaries in Ondo State.

Speaking with Nigerian Tribune in an exclusive interview in his Ovu country home in Delta State on Tuesday, the APC chieftain said if the country sustained the tempo of discipline being entrenched by the present leadership, Nigeria would soon become the China of Africa.

He, however, warned President Buhari to remain focused as well as do the needful, as, according to him, “the honeymoon may soon be over. “

Kokori called on Buhari to do what Nigerians voted him for, saying he should lead the country to look inwards like China and India did to pull Nigeria out of the woods.

The APC chieftain also noted that he was sure that the party would urgently look into the matter raised by Senator Tobin and do the needful where necessary in order to halt every form of distraction.

Kokori, who described Senator Tinubu and the APC chairman as great leaders, opined that the media had over-hyped the seeming crack, saying there was no need for Chief Oyegun to resign.

“Tinubu’s issues should be looked into. He’s a great leader like Oyegun. The party will take up the issue. We should all wait and see,” he averred.

On the call for the sales of national assets to cushion the effects of the recession, the septuagenarian said the suggestion,  as he described it,  was dead on arrival.

“Public opinion on sale of the assets is not in favor of the proposal. It was dead on arrival. It’s not realistic. It’s an unpopular idea.

“You can even see that the organised labor is against it. It’s a pedestrian solution to the solution, ” he argued, adding that the country was not actually in “real” recession.