The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2023 election, Omoyele Sowore, says he declined an invitation to attend the National Opposition Summit in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
He described the gathering as an effort by established political figures to repackage themselves without taking responsibility for past governance failures.
Leaders of opposition parties held the summit on Saturday, where they later announced plans to field a single presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
The parties involved include the African Democratic Congress (ADC) led by David Mark, a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chaired by Kabiru Turaki, and the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).
In a post on X on Sunday, Sowore argued that it is unrealistic to expect politicians who previously oversaw “stagnation, corruption, and systemic decay” to suddenly present themselves as agents of change. He added that Nigerians are aware of the country’s political history and are unlikely to be convinced by such efforts.
“I declined the Ibadan ‘Opposition summit’. Nigerians deserve a genuine alternative, not recycled failure,” he said.
“I was invited to attend the so-called ‘Opposition Summit’ in Ibadan, but I declined.
“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 or defenders of the people.
“Not all Nigerians are suffering from amnesia.”
The publisher of Sahara Reporters stated that he would not be part of any coalition aimed at recycling discredited political actors under the guise of opposition politics.
Sowore said the AAC remains independent of both the ruling party and other opposition groups, adding that the party would mobilise nationwide support.
“For the avoidance of doubt, our revolutionary party, the African Action Congress (@aacparty), will not be part of any charade designed to recycle failed political actors under the guise of ‘opposition,” he said.
“Instead, we are committed to presenting a formidable, people-driven alternative, one rooted in integrity, accountability, and genuine transformation.
“We will mobilize Nigerians across the country to rally behind a credible vision that rejects the decadence and deception represented by both the @OfficialAPCNg and their opportunistic counterparts in ADC, PDP, Labour Party, and elsewhere.”
Sowore added that “political challenges require a decisive break from existing structures instead of a rearrangement of the same broken pieces”.