Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2023 elections, has officially snubbed an invitation to the National Opposition Summit held in Ibadan, dismissing the gathering as a futile exercise in “recycling failure.”

The summit, which saw a convergence of major opposition figures in the Oyo State capital on Saturday, was aimed at forging a united front and potentially selecting a single consensus candidate to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general elections. However, Sowore, a vocal activist and consistent critic of the Nigerian political establishment, made it clear that he wants no part in what he views as a superficial rebranding of the “old guard.”

Reacting via his X handle on Sunday, Sowore explained his absence by questioning the credibility of the summit’s participants. He argued that the very individuals claiming to be the “saviors” of Nigeria are the same political actors who presided over decades of systemic decay, corruption, and economic stagnation. “I declined the Ibadan ‘Opposition Summit’. Nigerians deserve a genuine alternative, not recycled failure,” he wrote, adding that there is no need to pretend that these actors can suddenly reinvent themselves as champions of progress.

While leaders like former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and various party stalwarts discussed strategies for a 2027 merger, the summit was not without its own drama. The APC National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, was quick to mock the gathering, specifically poking fun at Atiku for allegedly “sleeping” during the proceedings. Meanwhile, other factions, including a Wike-backed PDP group and certain wings of the ADC, also distanced themselves from the Ibadan declaration, highlighting the deep fractures still existing within the country’s opposition.

For Sowore, the path forward does not lie in “opportunistic” alliances with established politicians but in a decisive break from the current political structure. He stated that the AAC would continue to mobilize Nigerians across the country toward a “credible political vision” that rejects both the ruling party and the traditional opposition.

By staying away from the Ibadan summit, Sowore has reaffirmed his stance that a true “revolution” in Nigerian politics cannot be led by those who built the system he seeks to dismantle.