“I Was Invited to the Ibadan Opposition Summit, But I Declined” — Omoyele Sowore

The Chairman of the African Action Congress, AAC, Omoyele Sowore, has said he declined an invitation to attend the recently held opposition summit in Ibadan, stating that Nigerians deserve a genuine political alternative rather than what he described as a gathering of recycled political actors.

Sowore, a two-time presidential candidate in the 2019 and 2023 elections, made his position known in a statement shared on his social media platforms on Sunday, distancing himself and his party from the meeting attended by several prominent opposition figures, “I was invited to attend the so-called ‘Opposition Summit’ in Ibadan, but I declined,” Sowore said.

According to him, the summit did not represent a credible attempt to build a new political direction for the country, “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,” he said.

He added that Nigerians should not forget the roles played by many political actors who are now positioning themselves as part of a new opposition coalition, “Not all Nigerians are suffering from amnesia,” he said. The activist-politician further declared that the AAC would not participate in what he called a political charade aimed at repackaging old political elites under a new opposition banner, “For the avoidance of doubt, our revolutionary party, the African Action Congress, will not be part of any charade designed to recycle failed political actors under the guise of ‘opposition,’” Sowore said.

Instead, he said the party would focus on mobilising Nigerians around what he described as a people-driven political alternative rooted in integrity, accountability and transformative governance, “We will mobilize Nigerians across the country to rally behind a credible vision that rejects the decadence and deception represented by both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and their opportunistic counterparts in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Labour Party and elsewhere,” he said.

Sowore concluded that Nigeria requires a complete break from its current political establishment rather than a reconfiguration of existing power blocs, “Nigeria does not need a rearrangement of the same broken pieces; it needs a complete break from the past,” he added.

The opposition summit referenced by Sowore took place on Saturday in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, bringing together leading figures from several political parties as part of efforts to strengthen cooperation ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The gathering was chaired by former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo and hosted by the state governor, Seyi Makinde. It attracted notable political leaders including Atiku Abubakar, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Peter Obi and Rotimi Amaechi, among others.

Participants at the summit discussed strategies for strengthening opposition politics and addressing Nigeria’s economic and security challenges, with some leaders advocating a united front to challenge the ruling APC in the 2027 elections.

A communiqué issued at the end of the meeting indicated that opposition parties were exploring the possibility of presenting a single presidential candidate in the next general election as part of efforts to increase their chances against the ruling party.