Why I Turned Down Ibadan Opposition Summit – Sowore

Former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has explained his decision to decline an invitation to the Ibadan “Opposition Summit,” saying Nigerians deserve “a genuine alternative, not recycled failure.”

In a statement on his Facebook page, Sowore said he refused to participate in what he described as a gathering of familiar political actors who have previously presided over Nigeria’s challenges.

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

The former candidate stressed that Nigerians remain aware of the country’s political history. “Not all Nigerians are suffering from amnesia,” he added.

Sowore also made it clear that his party, the African Action Congress (AAC), would not align with what he termed a political “charade.”

“For the avoidance of doubt, our revolutionary party… will not be part of any charade designed to recycle failed political actors under the guise of ‘opposition,’” he said.

Instead, he outlined AAC’s commitment to building what he described as a credible, people-focused alternative. According to him, the party aims to mobilize citizens nationwide around a vision grounded in “integrity, accountability, and genuine transformation.”

Sowore criticized both the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and opposition parties including the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party, and African Democratic Congress (ADC), accusing them of representing “decadence and deception.”

“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,” he said.

He concluded by calling for a decisive shift in Nigeria’s political direction. “Nigeria does not need a rearrangement of the same broken pieces—it needs a complete break from the past.”

The statement has added to ongoing debates about the future of opposition politics in Nigeria and the search for a viable alternative ahead of future elections.