Relocate presidency from Abuja to Port Harcourt or Yenagoa – Evah

Vanguard

9 October 2011

Relocate presidency from Abuja to Port Harcourt or Yenagoa – Evah

Comrade Joseph Evah is Coordinator, Ijaw Monitoring Group (IMG). The former Publicity Secretary of Ijaw National Congress (INC) in this interview pushes for the relocation of the seat of Power to the Niger Delta, among other issues.

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I have the structures in every Niger delta state, including Lagos and it cuts across all ethnic groups, including elderly men and women as well as the physically challenged persons and widows. Apart from that, our people are eager to see the president succeed so that our children will be proud of this generation that produced the first Niger delta president. I also have the structure in every higher institution in the country.

How do you manage these structures?

To manage these structures is very difficult because many of our people in positions see their positions as personal empowerment. You can see the crowd of people visiting this office everyday seeking for assistance, especially financial assistance. It is very difficult to meet up and we have sent money to our students in various higher institutions that want to mark either Ijaw cultural day or Niger delta students’ week.

It is the price we have to pay to catch-up with the Yorubas where leadership training starts from the school. As we speak, I have received request from over 100 communities across our region to extend my yearly deworming programme for children where I mobilize over 2,000 students every December to carryout the exercise in the creeks.

As we approach December, all our students are warming up for this special community service for mankind in our region. It is to save children from untimely death as a result of cholera, chicken pox, river blindness, fever, polio and other deadly diseases caused by pollution.

What is the relationship between the Aso Rock Deliverance Service and the thousands of empowerment tools you presented to the people?

Our people want to work with their hands to feed themselves. We are not lazy people.