2020 Budget: Brace Up for Tough Times, Timi Frank Tells Nigerians

...Misses Saraki, Dogara

A  former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timi Frank,  has urged Nigerians to prepare for tough times ahead, following the complete removal of fuel subsidy in the 2020 budget presented to  the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Frank, in a statement issued on Thursday, said from all indications, the 2020 budget, as  presented, has nothing in stock for the common man.

According to him, after a careful study of the content of the fiscal document, what the president submitted to the National Assembly showed that not only will Nigerians be heavily taxed, fuel subsidy completely removed but the social investment programme will cease to exist.

Frank said Nigerians should observe that since the APC administration came on board in 2015, national budgets have been increased annually but without positive effects on the lives of ordinary Nigerians.

He expressed his belief that the current National Assembly would rubber-stamp the 2020 budget as presented by  Buhari without asking necessary questions expected of a functioning and independent arm of government. 

"After careful study, I have concluded that this 2020 budget is not meant to rescue Nigerians from the current economic hardship that has sent more than 94 million to below the poverty line.

"It is a document without fuel subsidy, social investment scheme but a very high level of taxes. So, I urge Nigerians to prepare for the worst," he said.

Frank noted that the country would miss the eighth National Assembly led by Senator Bukola Saraki and Hon. Yakubu Dogara, who resisted many anti-people policies which would have scaled through against the expressed wish of Nigerians, adding that the current Assembly would definitely be a ‘yes sir’ kind of National Assembly.

He asked the presidency to tell the world why the country does not have a new refinery since the partial removal of fuel subsidy by the administration and what has happened with the recovered loot since 2015?

Frank described  the proposed 7.5 per cent value added tax (VAT)  to fund education, health and infrastructure as another  bogus tactics by the Buhari-led government to further compound the hardship of suffering citizens.