Makinde Says Sincerity Can Bridge Trust Gap

The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) Presidential candidate Seyi Makinde has said sincerity in governance can help bridge the trust gap between leaders and citizens, urging Nigerians to reject ethnic and religious divisions.

Makinde made the remarks on Thursday, during the Reset Nigeria: APM Holds South-East Townhall Meeting. He said countries face challenges, but leaders can address some of them by being honest and keeping their promises to citizens.

“Countries will face challenges, no doubt, but to deal with those challenges, 30% of it will go away just by being sincere,” he said.

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“When we take those challenges and we deal with them with sincerity, 30% will go away on its own. So, we will ensure that we bridge the trust deficit between the leaders and the citizens,” he added.

The Oyo State governor cited his experience, saying public trust had improved under his administration. He recalled that before he took office, citizens often dismissed government promises because they had heard similar assurances before.

“Before my time as governor of Oyo State, when government says they’re going to do something, the citizens will sneer at them and say, look, we’ve had this before, but that has changed,” he said.

He added that his administration had made progress in rebuilding trust between the government and the people.

“And because we’ve done it in Oyo State, by the grace of God, we will do it in Nigeria,” Makinde said.

Makinde (NC) — Seyi Makinde. Credit: NewsCentral TV.

The governor also outlined four pillars of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) RESET agenda. They include resetting the economy, security architecture, education system and sociopolitical space.

Makinde said he had been encouraged to take the party’s message to the South-East despite perceptions that the region strongly supports former presidential candidate Peter Obi.

“When we were coming here, we were almost discouraged. Oh, this is the zone for my friend and brother, His Excellency Peter Obi, and the Southeast is totally for him,” he said.

“I said, well, we definitely will bring our message also to the Southeast,” he added.

He urged Nigerians to reject divisions based on religion and ethnicity, noting that the country’s economic and social challenges affect everyone.

“My message to you today is that please reject all divisions across either religious line or ethnic line. The challenges we’re faced with does not know religion, does not know ethnicity,” he said.

Makinde called for more opportunities for young people, saying this would help tackle hunger and poverty and improve living standards.

“What we’re supposed to do is to create opportunities for our people, our teeming young people, create opportunities for them so that we can deal with the issue of hunger,” he said.

He added that Nigeria must work to reduce poverty and move more citizens towards prosperity.

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