OK Movement Rejects NDC Order Over Presidential Campaign Council

The OK Movement has rejected the directive of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) disowning its 59-member Presidential Campaign Council, insisting that the structure remains valid despite opposition from the party leadership.

The movement, which is backing the NDC presidential ticket of Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso ahead of the 2027 general elections, said its internal affairs could not be determined by the party or any of its leaders.

Its Director-General, John Ozyl Ughulu, made the position known in a statement issued in Abuja amid the growing disagreement between the movement and the NDC over the campaign structure.

Ughulu maintained that the OK Movement was an independent political organisation with its own leadership, principles and administrative arrangements.

He said the movement did not need the approval of NDC National Leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, National Chairman Senator Cleopas Moses or any other party official to determine how it would organise its members and coordinate its activities.

“The OK Movement wishes to reaffirm, unequivocally, that its position remains unchanged. The Presidential Campaign Council structure already constituted and announced by the OK Movement remains valid and operational, irrespective of the position or opinion of any individual leader of the party or presidential candidate,” he said.

The council was unveiled earlier in September with a mandate to coordinate mobilisation and political engagement for Obi and Kwankwaso across the country.

It contains zonal and state coordinators, alongside directors responsible for areas including mobilisation, women affairs, strategy and planning, legal affairs, security, information technology and administration.

Ughulu said the movement recognised the NDC as a political party with its own constitutional authority but argued that such authority did not extend to taking over the internal structure of an independent organisation.

“The NDC Party is a political party with its own constitutional structures, while the OK Movement is an independent political organisation with its own principles, values, leadership and organisational framework,” he said.

The disagreement started after the NDC rejected the 59-member council and warned members and support groups against announcing campaign structures without approval from the party’s National Working Committee.

Moses had said the council did not originate from the party and should therefore be disregarded by members of the public and the media.

He also maintained that candidates contesting under the NDC platform were not independent candidates and remained subject to the authority and discipline of the party.

“Therefore, only the party’s leadership can constitute and announce a Presidential Campaign Council, PCC,” Moses said.

The NDC chairman further warned that no individual, candidate or support group was authorised to constitute or publish a campaign council, organ or structure in the name of the party without prior approval from the NWC.

The party had also acknowledged the role of support groups in its political activities but drew a distinction between such groups and the official structures of the party.

Moses said support groups were expected to work with the party rather than establish structures that could be interpreted as parallel organs.

The OK Movement, however, has maintained that it is not attempting to take over the functions of the NDC.

Ughulu said the movement was only exercising what it described as its organisational independence while supporting the party’s presidential candidates.

He also argued that the movement had not been established or funded by the NDC or Obi and therefore could not be treated as an internal organ of the party.

“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,” he said.

The movement’s director-general also disclosed that it had not depended on financial assistance from Obi or the NDC to establish or maintain its structure.

“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.”

The statement came after earlier comments by Dickson concerning the relationship between support movements and political parties.

Henry Seriake Dickson; NDC logo

Dickson had argued that support groups should complement political parties rather than compete with them or operate as alternative campaign structures.

Ughulu subsequently rejected any suggestion that the movement should surrender its structures to the NDC.

He maintained that political cooperation did not automatically mean organisational control.

The movement has also argued that its members come from different political backgrounds but share support for Obi and Kwankwaso.

According to the group, its national, state, local government and ward structures were developed through the participation of its members and could not simply be dissolved by an external organisation.

The 59-member council announced by the movement is headed by Ughulu as Director-General, while Saadatu Sani serves as National Secretary.

Six zonal coordinators were also named to cover the country’s six geopolitical zones.

They include Suleiman Abubakar for North Central, Hashimu Dungurawa for North West, Amadu Gwambe for North East, Dr Adebayo Adefolaseye for South West, Christopher Ighodaro for South South and El-Shaddai Ikeh for South East.

Ibrahim Jabir was named the coordinator for the Federal Capital Territory.

Other appointments included coordinators for states across the North Central, North West and North East regions, among others.

The movement said the structure was designed to strengthen grassroots mobilisation and political engagement ahead of the 2027 elections.

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