The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has called on the Federal Government to pay its Joint Ventures Funds (JVF) to oil companies to help stimulate the sector.
This appeal was contained in a statement by the NUPENG President, Mr Igwe Achese, on Wednesday in Lagos.
The statement also stated that the oil and gas sector must not continue to experience the current redundancy, which had become the order of the day.
It urged the government to use part of the recovered looted funds to pay verified contractors, especially those involved in road construction works in order to bring back their workers.
The statement explained that tax holidays and free lands should be given to genuine investors to help them put the economy on track.
“There should be an efficient tax regime that will ensure that businesses are adequately taxed, as most of them explore the loopholes in the system to dodge payment of taxes,’’ it added.
The union advised the government to tackle economic challenges facing the country through partnership with the private sector and diversification to the mineral and agricultural areas.
“NUPENG is concerned with the weak state of the naira, growing inflation, rise in the prices of goods and essential services, unemployment and the growing rate of crime in the country,’’ it said.
