The African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has responded to the remarks by Donald Duke over his 2027 presidential ambition.
According to Sowore, he is firmly in the race, insisting that his candidacy is already reflected in the final list released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Sowore reacted in a post on X after Duke, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), said he was “not sure” Sowore was running for office and described him as a “voice of conscience.”
Duke made the comment while discussing efforts to unite opposition politicians ahead of the 2027 election.
Sowore thanked Duke for the description but said there should be no uncertainty about his political ambition.
“Dear @Donald_Duke thank you for describing me as a ‘voice of conscience’ and acknowledging that I say the things others in politics are too ‘civil’ to say, even when they know those things are true,” Sowore wrote.
“But let me clear up your uncertainty and this is important for posterity, I AM RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA IN 2027.”
Sowore pointed to INEC’s recently released final list of presidential candidates as further evidence that he is contesting the election. INEC’s list contains 18 presidential candidates, including Sowore for the AAC and Duke for the PRP.
“In fact, INEC’s final list released has Omoyele @Sowore as the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress @aacparty just as it has @DonaldDuke as the candidate of the @PrpNigeria,” he said.
The AAC candidate also used his response to explain why he believes his political approach differs from that of established political figures.
“Perhaps what makes my candidacy difficult for some members of Nigeria’s political establishment (including yourself) to understand is that I am not running for office in the conventional sense of seeking power for its privileges, appointments or access to the national treasury,” he said.
Sowore said the AAC was seeking what he described as a fundamental change to Nigeria’s political system, rather than simply replacing one group of politicians with another.
“We, in the @aacparty are running to fundamentally change Nigeria,” he said.
“We are running to dismantle the rotten political order that has kept our people poor while enriching a tiny ruling class.”
He listed equal rights, what he called revolutionary justice, a living wage, free and quality education, healthcare, security, electricity and housing among the issues he said his campaign would pursue.
Sowore also reiterated his opposition to ongoing efforts by opposition politicians to form a united platform ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
He said the AAC would not join an opposition coalition whose main objective was to replace President Bola Tinubu with another politician from what he described as the same establishment.
“And that is precisely why we will not disappear into an ‘opposition coalition’ whose principal ambition is merely to replace Bola Ahmed Tinubu @officialABAT with another member of the same establishment,” he said.
“Essentially replacing a thief with a burglar.”
Duke has been advocating greater cooperation among opposition parties and politicians ahead of the election. He said opposition forces should first agree on a common vision for Nigeria before deciding who should emerge as their presidential candidate. He also argued that Nigeria’s presidential system made a fragmented opposition difficult to sustain.
“I think the long-term objective is to merge the opposition. You can’t have a fractured opposition in a presidential system,” Duke said.
He also argued against forming an alliance simply for the purpose of defeating the incumbent.
“If it’s coming together just for the sake of defeating the incumbent, then I think it’s a waste of time. We must have a central objective about where we’d like to take Nigeria to, and who is best suited to do that,” Duke said.
Sowore, however, maintained that his own political programme was different from the proposed coalition arrangement and said the AAC would continue with its separate platform.
“So, my dear Mr. Former Gov. @DonaldDuke, there should be no confusion, yes, I am a voice of conscience, yes, but that voice is also on the ballot,” Sowore said.
“See you on the campaign trail!”
Sowore also referred to a recent presidential debate at the Nigerian Bar Association’s annual general conference in Port Harcourt, saying Duke’s late arrival prevented the two candidates from having an opportunity to engage directly.
“Ask @PeterObi and @ChibuikeAmaechi they will tell you how serious of a candidate @sowore is.”
