Why I rejected invitation to attend ‘Opposition Summit’ in Ibadan – Omoyele Sowore

Human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has explained why he declined an invitation to attend the recently held Opposition Summit in Ibadan, saying Nigeria needs a credible alternative and not what he described as a recycling of failed political actors.

Sowore made his position known in a statement released on  Sunday, distancing himself and the African Action Congress (AAC) from the gathering, which brought together several opposition figures ahead of the 2027 political season.

According to him, the summit did not represent the kind of political shift Nigerians are yearning for, insisting that those involved were part of the same political establishment responsible for the country’s longstanding challenges.

“I was invited to attend the so-called ‘Opposition Summit’ in Ibadan, but I declined,” Sowore said.

He argued that Nigerians should not be made to believe that politicians who have been part of governance failures can suddenly present themselves as agents of reform.

“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.

“Not all Nigerians are suffering from amnesia.”

Sowore said the AAC would not participate in what he described as a political arrangement aimed at repackaging old actors under the banner of opposition.

“For the avoidance of doubt, our revolutionary party, the African Action Congress (AAC), will not be part of any charade designed to recycle failed political actors under the guise of ‘opposition,’” he stated.

Rather than join such alliances, he said his party is focused on building what he called a people-driven movement anchored on integrity, accountability, and genuine transformation.

“Instead, we are committed to presenting a formidable, people-driven alternative, one rooted in integrity, accountability, and genuine transformation,” he said.

Sowore also said the AAC would continue mobilising Nigerians around a fresh political vision that breaks from what he called the failures represented by both the ruling party and sections of the opposition.

“We will mobilize Nigerians across the country to rally behind a credible vision that rejects the decadence and deception represented by both the APC and their opportunistic counterparts in ADC, PDP, Labour Party, and elsewhere,” he said.

He maintained that the country’s problems require a complete political departure, not alliances among old power blocs.

“Nigeria does not need a rearrangement of the same broken pieces; it needs a complete break from the past,” Sowore added.