OK Movement defies NDC Obi, insists its Presidential Campaign Council is still operational

The Obi-Kwankwaso (OK) Movement has insisted that its 59-member Presidential Campaign Council remains valid and operational despite opposition from some leaders of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).

The movement’s Director-General, John Ughulu, said the group operates as an independent political organisation with its own principles, leadership and organisational structure.

Ughulu made the position known in a statement while responding to the NDC’s decision to dissociate itself from the campaign council unveiled by the movement.

The NDC had earlier said the council did not emanate from the party and warned that no individual, presidential candidate or support group was authorised to constitute or announce a campaign structure in the party’s name without the approval of its National Working Committee.

The OK Movement, however, maintained that it does not require financial support from the NDC or its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to establish or operate its internal structures.

“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,” Ughulu said.

He argued that the movement’s organisational structure was deliberately designed to operate independently of Obi, his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, and the NDC for funding and internal administration.

According to him, the OK Movement does not claim superiority over the NDC, stressing that the party has its own constitutional structures, while the movement has its own principles, leadership and organisational framework.

Ughulu said the movement recognised the authority of the NDC over the party’s internal affairs but argued that such authority did not automatically extend to 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,” he said.

“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.”

The Director-General said the disagreement was not intended as a confrontation with the party but as an attempt to establish 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,” Ughulu said.

He added that the movement remained willing to work with the NDC where there was agreement on its principles and objectives.

“If the party chooses to work with the principles, values and structures of the OK Movement, we remain prepared to engage constructively,” he said.

However, Ughulu said the movement would not abandon its organisational identity to accommodate the preferences of individuals or groups.

“The movement cannot be compelled to abandon its principles or organisational identity to satisfy the ambitions or preferences of any individual or group,” he stated.

He further stressed that the NDC had the right to establish and manage its own campaign structures, just as the OK Movement had the right to organise its affairs within the law.

“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 said.

The dispute followed the unveiling of the OK Movement’s 59-member Presidential Campaign Council, which includes zonal and state coordinators as well as directors responsible for mobilisation, women’s affairs, strategy, security, legal affairs and other areas.

The disagreement has continued despite the movement’s stated intention to mobilise support for Obi and Kwankwaso ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Peter Obi has also publicly distanced himself from the formation of the campaign council, saying the NDC was the political party to which he belonged and that support groups should play a supporting role rather than operate as the party.

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