AAC candidate says he is running to overhaul Nigeria’s political order, not to seek power for its perks
African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has rejected suggestions that his 2027 bid is anything less than serious. The response came after Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) candidate Donald Duke said he was unsure the activist was really in the race.
Duke, a former Cross River State governor, made the comment on the Naija Unfiltered Podcast. He praised Sowore as a “voice of conscience” who says uncomfortable truths that other politicians avoid for the sake of civility.
Sowore replied on social media on Tuesday. He thanked Duke for the compliment but said the doubt was misplaced, pointing to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) final candidate list, which names him for the AAC and Duke for the PRP.
He said his campaign is not about the privileges, appointments or access to public funds that draw many to politics. Instead, he said, the AAC wants to dismantle a political order that has kept ordinary Nigerians poor while enriching a small ruling class.
Sowore listed the party’s priorities as equal rights, justice, a living wage, free and quality education, healthcare, security, electricity and housing.
He also ruled out joining any opposition coalition whose main goal would be to replace President Bola Tinubu with another member of the same establishment.
Sowore embraced the “voice of conscience” label but said it is now more than a voice: “that voice is also on the ballot.”
He ended with a jab at Duke, saying Duke was fortunate to have arrived late to the presidential debate at the Nigerian Bar Association’s Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt. Otherwise, Sowore said, he would have settled the question of his candidacy on the spot.
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