Sowore Accuses Obasanjo of Backing Plan to Clear Path for Peter Obi in 2027

Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has criticised former Cross River State Governor and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) presidential candidate, Donald Duke, over his reported willingness to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race in support of a consensus opposition candidate.

Duke had indicated on Tuesday that he was prepared to step aside if opposition parties agreed on a single candidate to challenge the ruling party in the 2027 general election.

Reacting to the development, Sowore accused Duke of participating in political manoeuvres allegedly designed to create uncertainty around his own presidential ambition.

The AAC candidate claimed that former President Olusegun Obasanjo was positioning politicians he described as political weaklings to withdraw in favour of his preferred candidate, Peter Obi, who is associated with the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC).

Sowore recalled an earlier comment attributed to Duke questioning whether he intended to contest the 2027 presidential election. He said he interpreted the remark as an attempt by established political interests to undermine his ambition and create confusion about his candidacy.

In a statement posted on X, Sowore alleged that Duke was acting on behalf of Obasanjo, whom he accused of coordinating the proposed political arrangement.

“In fact, I heard he was sent by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is allegedly positioning a number of political weaklings to eventually step aside for his preferred candidate, @PeterObi,” he wrote.

Sowore also described Obi as a “packaged political fraud”, insisting that the latest political developments reinforced his earlier suspicions about the activities of established political figures ahead of the election.

He further questioned Duke’s seriousness about contesting the presidency, arguing that his willingness to step down suggested that his initial declaration could have been part of a wider political strategy.

Reaffirming his intention to contest the 2027 election, Sowore declared: “I said it then, and I maintain it now! I am running for President in 2027!”

He added that his political movement would resist what he described as attempts by established political interests to determine its direction.

“We know these establishment games. We know their methods. And we will not allow their political calculations to define our revolutionary ambition,” he said.

Neither Obasanjo nor Duke’s response to Sowore’s allegations was included in the available account. The claim that Obasanjo is coordinating efforts to secure Obi’s emergence as a consensus opposition candidate therefore remains an allegation by Sowore, not an established fact.