The Obi-Kwankwaso Movement, popularly known as the OK Movement, has rejected any attempt by the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) to absorb or take control of its organisational structures ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The movement said it would retain its independent identity, leadership and mobilisation structures at the national, state, local government and ward levels, despite its support for the NDC presidential ticket of Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso.
The National Director-General of the OK Movement, John Ozyl Ughulu, stated this on Wednesday in response to comments by NDC National Leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, over the role of support groups within the party’s 2027 political structure.
The disagreement followed the OK Movement’s unveiling of a 59-member Presidential Campaign Council on September 17 to coordinate mobilisation and campaign activities in support of Obi and Kwankwaso. John Ughulu was named Director-General of the council, while Saadatu Sani was named National Secretary.
However, the NDC subsequently dissociated itself from the council, stating that the structure was not authorised by the party and should be disregarded by the public and the media. NDC National Chairman, Cleopas Moses, said the party did not recognise the announcement and cautioned support groups against presenting themselves as alternative structures of the party.
Dickson: Support Groups Should Not Compete With Party
Speaking while receiving former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, into the NDC, Dickson criticised the decision by the OK Movement to establish its own presidential campaign council.
According to Dickson, support groups are expected to complement political parties through grassroots mobilisation rather than establish structures that compete with the official machinery of the party.
He said support groups should not seek supremacy or political space at the expense of the party sponsoring the candidates.
Dickson also described the establishment of a separate presidential campaign council by the OK Movement as “nonsensical” and said such structures were not the conventional role of a support organisation.
He maintained that the NDC was prepared to work with support groups but expected them to operate within their role of mobilisation and support for the party’s candidates.
OK Movement Rejects the Description
Responding, Ughulu disagreed with the description of the OK Movement as an ordinary support group operating as an appendage of the NDC.
He said the movement was independently established, managed and structured, with members drawn from different political backgrounds who share support for Obi and Kwankwaso.
Ughulu argued that while the movement supports the NDC presidential candidates, such political alignment does not automatically make its organisational structures part of the NDC.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the OK Movement is not a support group created as an appendage of any political party or another movement. It is independently organised, managed and structured through its own established movement mechanisms,” he said.
He also rejected Dickson’s description of the campaign council as “nonsensical”, arguing that political organisation had evolved beyond conventional party structures.
According to Ughulu, the movement’s members come from different political parties but are united by their support for the political aspirations of Obi and Kwankwaso.
‘Our Structures Will Remain Independent’
Ughulu said the movement would not allow its structures to be collapsed, merged or transferred to the NDC.
He maintained that the OK Movement had established structures across the country and that those structures belonged to the movement rather than the political party whose candidates it supports.
The position is consistent with the movement’s earlier response to the NDC’s rejection of its campaign council, when its leadership argued that it did not require individual approval from the party before carrying out its organisational functions.
At the same time, Ughulu said the movement was not seeking to take over the NDC or challenge the party’s constitutional authority.
He stressed that the OK Movement’s position was based on maintaining its independent identity while continuing to work in support of Obi and Kwankwaso.
The dispute has therefore centred on the distinction between political support and organisational control, with the NDC insisting that support groups should not function as parallel party structures, while the OK Movement maintains that its independent organisation can coexist with its support for the NDC ticket.
With the 2027 elections approaching, the disagreement highlights an emerging question over how the NDC will coordinate its official campaign machinery alongside independent organisations mobilising support for its presidential candidates.
