A socialist organisation in Nigeria has called for conditional support for African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore in the 2027 general election, arguing that any support from the socialist left must be tied to a clear programme for breaking with imperialism and challenging capitalist ownership.
The position is contained in an open letter addressed to the AAC and other socialist, left-wing and working-class organisations in Nigeria by the International Socialist Alternative (Revolutionary), ISA(R)-Nigeria, and The Anti-Imperialist (Nigeria).
The groups acknowledge the growing support for Sowore among sections of the Nigerian left, pointing to his opposition to established political parties and his campaign promises around higher wages, free education, 24-hour electricity, housing and the restoration of fuel subsidy.
However, they argue that these demands cannot be implemented without confronting the economic interests that dominate Nigeria.
“Any incremental reforms, including the various supportable demands raised by Sowore’s campaign, will instantly require a confrontation with the true masters of the country,” the letter argues.
The groups therefore propose five conditions for any presidential candidate seeking socialist and working-class support in 2027: repudiation of foreign debt and seizure of imperialist assets; nationalisation of banks, refineries and strategic industries for planned industrialisation; expropriation of foreign-owned agricultural conglomerates and feudal landowners with land distributed to farmers and herders; publication of government and police books; and an end to state repression, including opposition to strike-breaking and the abolition of the Department of State Services (DSS).
The letter argues that Sowore’s programme cannot be fully implemented without a confrontation with imperialist interests and sections of the Nigerian capitalist class.
On the economy, the groups reject the idea that Nigeria can simply renegotiate its foreign debts, arguing instead for their repudiation and the expropriation of assets belonging to imperialist interests.
They also challenge Sowore’s position on fuel subsidy, arguing that restoring subsidy without addressing ownership could transfer public resources to major private interests. The letter specifically calls for the expropriation of Dangote without compensation.
On insecurity, the groups commend Sowore for opposing the bombing of Nigeria by the United States, but argue that opposition to foreign military intervention must go further, including an end to the military partnership with Washington and the expulsion of US presence.
The letter also rejects the idea that insecurity can be solved simply through increased police funding and recruitment. Instead, it links rural violence to unemployment, inequality, land dispossession and the destruction of farming and grazing livelihoods, calling for the expropriation of landlords and redistribution of land to those who work it.
The socialist groups further challenge Sowore over corruption and state repression.
They call for the publication of government and police records and argue that workers and the wider population should have the ability to inspect and adjudicate abuses committed by state officials.
The letter also criticises state intervention in workers’ struggles and cites the court’s intervention in the PENGASSAN strike following the dismissal of more than 800 Dangote workers. It argues that a government genuinely relying on the working class would have to guarantee that it would not break strikes and would remove state restrictions on workers’ organisation.
The groups also call on the Nigerian working class and trade unions to mobilise in defence of Sowore against what they describe as bogus charges against him.
What if Sowore rejects the demands?
The letter makes clear that its proposal is not an unconditional endorsement of Sowore.
It warns that if Sowore contests the election without a programme for breaking with imperialism and challenging capitalist ownership, the socialist left should not simply endorse his candidacy.
Instead, it proposes the possibility of a blank vote, combined with an independent socialist political campaign during the election period.
“A blank vote would not mean political passivity,” the groups argue. “It would mean rejecting the rigged electoral system of the Fourth Republic while using the election period to organise workers, youth and oppressed communities around an independent socialist programme.”
The proposal also raises the possibility of a symbolic socialist electoral intervention following the deregistration of the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN).
According to the letter, the SPN, ISA(R)-Nigeria and other interested socialist organisations could discuss putting forward a symbolic independent socialist candidate.
Such a campaign, it argues, would not be centred on an individual personality but would be used to popularise an independent socialist programme, engage workers and young people, participate in debates and meetings, and build organised resistance.
Where formal electoral participation is impossible, the groups suggest public meetings, debates, campaign materials, community engagements and a voluntary straw poll among workers and young people.
A challenge to the Nigerian left
The intervention places the 2027 election debate within a broader question: whether the Nigerian left should support an anti-establishment candidate simply because they are positioned against the political establishment, or demand a programme capable of confronting the economic system behind Nigeria’s crisis.
The groups are calling on the SPN and other left organisations to discuss four questions: what political conditions any candidate seeking working-class support should meet; whether conditional support should be offered to Sowore if he adopts those demands; what position the left should take if he rejects them, including the possibility of a blank vote; and whether a socialist straw-poll candidate should be put forward.
The letter concludes that the 2027 elections should not simply become a choice between capitalist candidates and left-leaning personalities.
Instead, it argues that the electoral period should be used to strengthen the political independence, organisation and consciousness of Nigerian workers, youth and oppressed communities.
The central question, therefore, is not simply “Should the left support Sowore?”
It is whether any candidate seeking working-class support is prepared to demonstrate what they are willing to do to break with imperialism, challenge capitalist ownership and strengthen the power of organised workers and oppressed people.
That, the groups argue, should be the starting point for the Nigerian socialist left’s intervention in 2027.
