Federal Government pleads with ex-militants over delayed allowances

After several failed promises of the payment of allowances to ex-militanta, the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Brigadier General Paul Boroh (Rtd) has again, appealed to ex-agitators in the Niger Delta region not to lose hope in the Federal Government.

He pleaded that the ex-agitators should continue to have confidence in the ability of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in effecting the payment of their monthly stipends despite seeming hiccups in the payment process.

The ex-agitators had suspended protest over the non-payment of their allowances few weeks ago when Boroh promised that the money would be paid in a matter of days.

However, the allowances were not paid and there are fears that the ex-agitators might stage a violent protest in the Niger Delta region over the non-payment of the allowances as promised.

According to Gen. Boroh, the Central Bank of Nigeria, which is saddled with the responsibility of effecting the payments of stipends directly to the ex-agitators in the region, in line with the Treasury Single Accounts (TSA) payment system, is making every effort to clear the outstanding months, adding that it was only wise to bear with the payment process, which may have its challenges.

The Treasury Single Account (TSA) is a public accounting system under which all government revenue, receipts and income are collected into one single account, usually maintained by the country’s Central Bank from where all payments are made.

One of the leaders of the ex-agitators, General Yeimowei Ebi, said the ex-agitators were tired of the many failed promises of the payment of the allowances by the Federal Government.

He said the ex-agitators would soon hold a crucial meeting to determine the next line of action.