Human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has explained his decision to decline participation in the recently proposed opposition summit held in Ibadan, citing what he described as a lack of credibility among its conveners.
In a strongly worded statement, Sowore said his refusal was based on his conviction that many of the political actors behind the gathering were responsible for Nigeria’s long-standing governance challenges, including corruption, stagnation and systemic decay. According to him, it would be misleading to present such individuals as agents of change.
The convener of the African Action Congress (AAC) maintained that Nigerians “deserve a genuine alternative, not recycled failure,” stressing that the country’s electorate is fully aware of the track records of past leaders.
Sowore further ruled out any collaboration with political platforms he accused of perpetuating the status quo, including the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party and the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
He described efforts to unite such groups under an “opposition” banner as a mere political charade aimed at repackaging failed leadership.
Reaffirming AAC’s stance, Sowore noted that his party remains committed to building a people-oriented movement anchored on transparency, accountability and transformative governance.
He emphasized the need for a complete departure from what he termed Nigeria’s entrenched political culture, rather than a rebranding of familiar faces.
He concluded by calling on Nigerians to rally behind a credible and revolutionary vision capable of delivering real change, insisting that the nation’s future depends on breaking away from the failures of the past.
