By Opeyemi Adelakun
The Nigeria Democratic Congress and the Obi-Kwankwaso Movement, popularly known as the OK Movement, have disagreed over a 59-member Presidential Campaign Council announced to mobilise support for the party’s 2027 presidential ticket.
The dispute followed the NDC’s decision to dissociate itself from the council, insisting that the structure was not authorised by the party.
The party’s National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas, said no individual, candidate or support group had the authority to constitute or announce a campaign structure in the party’s name without prior approval from the National Working Committee.
The council was unveiled by the OK Movement on Thursday, with the movement’s Director-General, John Ughulu, named as Director-General of the campaign structure and its National Secretary, Saadatu Sani, also listed among the leadership. The council includes zonal and state coordinators as well as directors responsible for mobilisation, women affairs, strategy, security, legal affairs and other areas.
In his statement, Cleopas said the NDC completely disowned the council and urged members of the public and the media to disregard it.
He said candidates contesting elections on the NDC platform remained subject to the authority and discipline of the party.
The chairman, however, acknowledged the role of support groups in political mobilisation, saying the party would continue to work with them but would not accept them operating as alternative or parallel structures.
The NDC also directed members and support groups with grievances to use its internal mechanisms rather than publicly attacking the party.
The party further announced that Ughulu had been referred to its appropriate disciplinary organ over what Cleopas described as his conduct during the Lagos State primary election and repeated disregard for party authority.
But the OK Movement rejected the NDC chairman’s position.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, the movement’s National Secretary, Saadatu Sani, described the NDC’s position as a misunderstanding of the group’s status and insisted that the OK Movement remained an independent political organisation with its own leadership and internal processes.
Sani called on Cleopas to withdraw what the movement regarded as defamatory statements and apologise to the organisation and Ughulu.
“The OK Movement does not engage in such politics. We will not be dragged into a politics of personal insults, intimidation or defamatory exchanges. We will continue to educate rather than abuse,” she said.
The movement said it recognised the constitutional and statutory authority of political parties but argued that its decision to support NDC candidates did not make it a subordinate structure of the party.
“We will campaign for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates of the party. We will campaign for candidates of the NDC across the country where the movement has resolved to support them,” Sani said.
“But we do not require the personal validation or approval of any individual before exercising our legitimate organisational functions.”
The OK Movement said it had developed a nationwide grassroots structure and claimed an internal database representing approximately 2.5 million registered members and coordinators.
Sani also described the organisation as a long-term political movement rather than a temporary support group established solely for the 2027 elections.
The dispute comes days after the movement announced its 59-member campaign council covering the six geopolitical zones, the Federal Capital Territory and the 36 states.
The disagreement has therefore centred on the distinction between the formal structures of the NDC and the organisational activities of groups supporting its candidates.
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