NDC Rejects OK Movement’s 59-Member Campaign Council

The Nigeria Democratic Congress has rejected the 59-member Presidential Campaign Council announced by the Obi-Kwankwaso Movement, popularly known as the OK Movement, ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The party said the campaign council was not created or approved by its leadership and warned that no individual, candidate or support group had the authority to establish or announce a campaign structure in the name of the NDC without clearance from its National Working Committee.

The NDC National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas, made this known in a statement issued on Saturday night, three days after the OK Movement announced its campaign council through its Director-General, John Ughulu.

Cleopas said the party had dissociated itself completely from the campaign council and urged members of the public and the media not to regard the structure as an official NDC organisation.

He explained that candidates contesting elections under the NDC platform were subject to the party’s leadership and could not operate as independent political figures within the party structure.

The chairman also warned members and support groups against creating structures that could weaken the authority of the party. He said any campaign council, organ or other structure established in the name of the NDC must first receive approval from the National Working Committee.

The dispute followed the announcement by the OK Movement of a 59-member Presidential Campaign Council made up of coordinators and directors from across the country.

The council included representatives from the six geopolitical zones, the Federal Capital Territory and the 36 states.

Ughulu was named Director-General of the council, while the movement’s National Secretary, Saadatu Sani, was also included among its leadership.

Other appointments covered areas such as grassroots mobilisation, women affairs, engagement, special duties, procurement, information technology, legal affairs, strategy and planning, security and intelligence, and administration.

The NDC said it recognised the role played by support groups in promoting its political activities and welcomed their continued backing. However, the party maintained that such groups could not operate as parallel structures or alternative organs of the NDC.

Cleopas also called on party members and support groups with complaints or disagreements to make use of the party’s internal processes rather than publicly attacking the organisation.

He said the party expected members to resolve their grievances through the appropriate channels while continuing to work toward the objectives of the NDC.

The party also announced disciplinary proceedings against Ughulu over what it described as his conduct during the Lagos State primary election and what it said were repeated actions against the authority of the party.

According to the NDC chairman, Ughulu had been referred to the appropriate disciplinary body for further action in line with the provisions of the party’s constitution.

Ughulu, however, rejected the position of the NDC leadership and defended the independence of the OK Movement.

Speaking to PUNCH Online, the movement’s Director-General said the group was a separate political support organisation and was not under the control of the NDC.

He maintained that the movement operated in support of its preferred candidates and therefore did not accept that its activities should be controlled by the party.

The disagreement has therefore created a dispute between the NDC leadership and the OK Movement over who has the authority to create campaign structures for candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.