Over 100 aggrieved ex-militant leaders under the aegis of the Leadership Forum for Peace in Niger Delta on Friday, gave the Federal Government a three-day ultimatum to pay their allowances.
The ex-militants disclosed this in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, and declared that failure to pay the allowances would lead to crisis in the region.
The ex-militant leaders who were drawn from Edo, Rivers, Imo, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Delta and Bayelsa States, lamented that the government had abandoned all agreements they reached with the late President Umaru Yar’Adua.
The leaders stated that they could only appeal to their members to maintain peace till February 13. The leader of the group, ‘General’ Rueben Wilson, blamed the non-payment of the allowances on the National Assembly and the presidency.
He disclosed that the ex-militant leaders were being threatened by their lieutenants who were frustrated by the inaction of the government.
He said, “Our boys have not been paid. They are threatening us by sending different messages to us. If the money is delayed beyond Wednesday, there would be crisis because our boys have become unruly and impatient.
“We are giving the Federal Government up till Wednesday to pay our money. If the money is not paid, anything that happens, they should not blame the leaders, because we cannot talk to our boys beyond Wednesday.”