ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), in the 2023 election, Omoyele Sowore, has revealed that he rejected an invitation to attend the National Opposition Summit in Ibadan, dismissing the gathering as an attempt by entrenched political actors to repackage themselves ahead of the 2027 elections.
Opposition leaders had converged on Ibadan, Oyo State, where they agreed to work towards presenting a single presidential candidate to challenge the ruling party.
The coalition involves the African Democratic Congress, reportedly led by former Senate President David Mark, a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party chaired by Kabiru Turaki, and the New Nigeria People’s Party.
Reacting via his X handle on Sunday, Sowore said his decision to stay away was deliberate, arguing that politicians who had overseen years of stagnation and corruption could not suddenly reposition themselves as agents of change.
“I declined the Ibadan ‘Opposition Summit’. Nigerians deserve a genuine alternative, not recycled failure,” he wrote.
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The Sahara Reporters publisher insisted that the country does not need what he described as a cosmetic rebranding of familiar political figures.
“There is no need to pretend that the same men (and a few women) who held Nigeria to ransom for years, presiding over stagnation, corruption, and systemic decay, can suddenly reinvent themselves as champions of progress,” he said.
Sowore further stated that the AAC would not participate in what he termed a political charade aimed at recycling failed politicians under the guise of opposition unity.
According to him, the party remains committed to building a people-driven movement anchored on integrity, accountability and genuine transformation.
He added that the AAC would continue mobilising Nigerians nationwide in pursuit of what he described as a credible political alternative, distancing itself not only from the ruling All Progressives Congress but also from opposition blocs he accused of opportunism.
Sowore maintained that Nigeria’s political crisis requires a complete break from existing structures, rather than a reshuffling of the same actors ahead of another election cycle.