The Obi-Kwankwaso (OK) Movement has criticised the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) over its 2027 National Campaign Council list, which was unveiled on Sunday, October 25.
The movement’s Director-General, John Ughulu, lamented that the NDC had unnecessarily delayed organising its campaign machinery ahead of the elections.
It warned that political ambition alone would not guarantee electoral success without effective grassroots mobilisation and coordination.
Ughulu made the remarks on Monday in a statement made available to journalists, a day after the NDC announced its National Campaign Council ahead of its inauguration.
He claimed the OK Movement had established the necessary structures ahead of the electioneering season, while other political actors were only beginning to organise their campaigns.
“The funny part of this list is that 90 per cent of the people on it will still come knocking on the doors of the OK Movement to beg for the very structure they have failed to build themselves!” he said.
Ughulu questioned why the party was only unveiling its campaign council at this stage, arguing that a successful presidential campaign required early planning and a functional mobilisation network.
“With less than three months to the general elections, they are only just announcing their Presidential Campaign Council. What exactly have they been doing all this time? Where is the structure? Where is the strategy? Where is the machinery required to prosecute a serious national election?” he asked.
The criticism comes amid an escalating disagreement between the NDC and the OK Movement over the movement’s organisational independence and its role in mobilising support for the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso.
In the campaign council list, the NDC named its National Leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, as chairman of its National Campaign Council, with Obi appointed co-chairman.
The party’s National Chairman, Senator Cleopas Moses Zuwoghe, was named vice-chairman, while Kwankwaso will serve as co-vice-chairman.
Other appointees include former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, as chairman of the National Advisory Council; former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege; former presidential candidate, Pat Utomi; and former National Secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change, Buba Galadima.
The NDC National Secretary, Ikenna Enekweizu, was appointed council secretary, while Ibrahim Abdulkarim will serve as Director-General.
However, Ughulu and the OK Movement’s state, local government and ward coordinators were not included in the appointments.
The omission comes amid a dispute over the movement’s decision to establish its own presidential campaign council, a move Dickson previously described as “unheard of” and “nonsensical”.
Recall that the former Bayelsa State governor had argued that support groups should complement political parties rather than compete with them or establish parallel structures.
Ughulu, however, maintained that the OK Movement was an independent political organisation rather than a conventional support group. He said it would not surrender its national, state, local government and ward structures to the NDC or any other organisation.
In his latest statement, he argued that electoral victories depended on sustained grassroots mobilisation, strategic planning and effective coordination rather than the prominent names featured on campaign councils.
“Elections are not won by titles, press releases, political noise, or the number of big names on a campaign council. Elections are won through grassroots mobilisation, effective coordination, strategic planning, committed people, and a well-established structure that reaches every polling unit,” he said.
Ughulu added that the movement had recognised the importance of grassroots organisation long before the electioneering season.
“We did not wait for the election to approach before recognising the importance of grassroots organisation. We understood from the beginning that a presidential ambition without a functional grassroots structure is nothing more than a political wish!” he said.
He also warned that political leaders who had criticised the movement might eventually need its network and organisational capacity as the elections approached.
“But the question is: Will they respect the structure they are now coming to depend on?” he asked.
The NDC is scheduled to inaugurate its National Campaign Council and commission its newly acquired national secretariat in Abuja on Monday.
The party will also present Certificates of Return to its candidates for the presidential, governorship, National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly elections during activities marking its third National Executive Committee meeting.
Ughulu insisted that the OK Movement would not be reduced to a ceremonial support group, maintaining that its strength lay in its organisational capacity and commitment to the Obi-Kwankwaso political project.
“Leadership is not about who makes the loudest noise. Leadership is about who prepares, organises, builds, and delivers when it matters most,” he said.
