Thousands of road users plying the East-West road were stranded for hours yesterday as hundreds of ex-militants from Bayelsa and Delta States disrupted traffic for hours along the Mbiama-Yenagoa section of the road.

Also, strategic streets like the Five Junction in Benin City which links the city centre and other parts of the city were blocked yesterday morning by Niger-Delta Ex-militants who protested the five months non payment of their monthly stipends and threatened a total blockade of the city by Friday if their salaries were not paid.

The ex-militants under the Presidential Amnesty programme were demanding immediate payment or they take over the road permanently.

Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson had at the weekend appealed to ex-militants to be calm and exercise patience with the Federal Government over delay in the payment of their stipends.

He also called on the Presidential Amnesty Office to urgently pay whatever was due the ex-agitators.

The ex-militants, who arrived the Mbiama-Yenagoa junction of the road as early as six O’clock in the morning, with various placards and screaming captions, were chanting solidarity songs.

However, heavily armed soldiers and other security personnel were at the scene of the protest to forestall any breakdown of law and order.

It took the intervention of the Commander of the special Joint security outfit in the Niger Delta, codenamed ‘Operation Delta Safe’, Rear Admiral Joseph Okojie, before the former militant open the road to traffic.

He urged the ex-militants to be patient with the authorities, assuring that their stipends would be paid to them in due course

In Benin, the blockade of the road almost marred the flagging off of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship campaign until policemen pacified the protesters who now staged a peaceful march to the Edo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).

Their spokesman, Glad Teteh said they were part of the Phase One, Two and Three presidential Amnesty programme adding that the neglect by the federal government is disheartening adding that they are being owed five Months stipend, as they no longer can fend for their families.

He called on the Special Adviser on Amnesty to President Muhammadu Buhari; Brigadier-General Paul Boroh (rtd.) to speedily release their salary within the next two days to avoid their wrath, which they threatened, would be indescribable.