Omoyele Sowore, the former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), recently explained why he won’t form a political alliance with the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

Sowore, who has been a prominent activist and a critical voice in Nigerian politics for years, shared his views on the Honest Bunch Podcast, expressing strong reservations about Obi’s political image and track record.

Sowore argued that Obi, despite his popularity, is fundamentally no different from the traditional political elite he has opposed throughout his career.

He described Obi as being skilled at “packaging” himself to appeal to the public but stated that this superficial appeal doesn’t change his assessment of Obi as part of Nigeria’s established political class.

“I was already running for President before Peter Obi became prominent,” Sowore emphasized.

Sowore went further, explaining that he has always rejected alliances with politicians he considers to be part of the country’s longstanding issues of corruption and inefficiency.

This, he said, is the same reason he would not consider aligning with Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president and presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), noting that Obi had served as Atiku’s running mate in the 2019 presidential election.

“In 2019, while I was running for president, Obi was on the ballot as vice presidential candidate for Atiku.

I’ve never believed in aligning with those who represent what I stand against,” he remarked.

He made this statement, pointing out his belief that holding any significant political office without a visible positive impact is a red flag in his view.

He expressed his frustration with the idea of the “lesser evil” in Nigerian politics, emphasizing that, for him, someone is either a good leader or not—there’s no middle ground.

In his concluding remarks, Sowore urged Nigerians to look beyond the surface and demand transparency, performance, and accountability from their leaders.