The Obi-Kwankwaso (OK) Movement has insisted that its Presidential Campaign Council remains valid and operational despite opposition from some leaders of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
The development is the latest twist in the disagreement between the movement and the NDC over the role and organisational status of the group ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The OK Movement had earlier unveiled a 59-member Presidential Campaign Council comprising zonal and state coordinators as well as directors responsible for areas including mobilisation, women’s affairs, strategy, security and legal affairs. The NDC subsequently dissociated itself from the structure, saying that only the party’s authorised leadership could constitute and announce its official campaign council.
NDC National Leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, later criticised the move, arguing that support groups should not establish structures that perform the functions of a political party’s official campaign machinery.
Dickson described the decision to establish the council as “nonsensical” and maintained that support groups were expected to provide grassroots mobilisation and other forms of support rather than operate as parallel structures to the party.
Peter Obi has also backed Dickson’s position, stating that he was not involved in the formation of the OK Movement’s campaign council.
Responding to the controversy, the Director-General of the OK Movement, John Ughulu, defended the movement’s organisational independence and argued that its structure did not require approval from the NDC leadership.
Ughulu said the movement does not receive financial support from Obi or the NDC to establish or operate its organisational structure.
He said:
“The mechanism through which the OK Movement operates is founded upon its established principles and values.
“Consequently, the movement does not and has not required any financial support from His Excellency, Peter Obi, the NDC presidential candidate, or the NDC to establish or operate its own organisational structure.”
According to Ughulu, the OK Movement is an independent political organisation with its own leadership, principles and organisational framework.
He argued that the movement’s structure was designed to operate independently and does not depend on Obi, his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, or the NDC for funding.
Ughulu also stressed that the movement had never claimed superiority over the NDC, noting that the party has its own constitutional structures while the OK Movement operates under its own organisational principles.
He further argued that neither the Nigerian Constitution nor the NDC constitution, as presented to the movement, automatically gives the party or its presidential candidate control over the internal structure of an independent political organisation.
“There is no provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, nor any provision of the NDC Party Constitution brought to our attention, that automatically vests exclusive authority in a political party or its candidate to determine the internal organisational structure of an independent political organisation.
“The NDC Party is entitled to constitute its own campaign structures, just as the OK Movement is entitled to organise and manage its own affairs within the limits of applicable law,” he said.
Ughulu maintained that the disagreement was not about confrontation with the NDC but about what he described as institutional respect and organisational independence.
“Our position is not about confrontation. It is about clarity, institutional respect and the protection of organisational independence. If the party chooses to work with the principles, values and structures of the OK Movement, we remain prepared to engage constructively,” he stated.
He, however, said the movement would not abandon its principles or organisational identity to satisfy the preferences of any individual or group.
“The meaning of ‘independent’ is straightforward. The NDC has the right to constitute and manage its own campaign structures. Likewise, an independent political organisation has the right to constitute and manage its own organisational structures, subject always to the law,” Ughulu added.
The dispute comes as the NDC moves to establish its own official Presidential Campaign Council for the 2027 election. The party has said Obi and Kwankwaso will play roles in nominating key officers for the official council in consultation with the party leadership.
