NDC, OK Movement Clash Over Who Can Set Up 2027 Campaign Structures

ABUJA — A fresh dispute has emerged between the Obi-Kwankwaso Movement and the Nigeria Democratic Congress over the formation of a presidential campaign council ahead of the 2027 election.

The OK Movement says it does not require the personal validation or approval of any individual within the NDC before carrying out its organisational activities.

The statement followed the NDC’s rejection of a 59-member Presidential Campaign Council announced by the movement.

The NDC had said the campaign council did not emanate from the party and should be disregarded.

The party’s National Chairman, Senator Cleopas Moses, said only the party leadership had the authority to constitute and announce a presidential campaign council.

He also warned members, candidates and support groups against creating party structures without approval from the National Working Committee.

The OK Movement has rejected that position.Its National Secretary, Saadatu Sani, said the organisation has its own leadership, structure and internal processes.

The movement unveiled the 59-member council on Thursday, naming John Ughulu as Director-General and Sani as National Secretary. The structure includes zonal and state coordinators as well as directors for mobilisation, women affairs, strategy, security and legal affairs.

Where the dispute comes from

The OK Movement describes itself as a support platform mobilising for the joint NDC ticket of Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso.

But it has repeatedly stressed its separate organisational identity. In August, the movement rejected suggestions that it should merge into or be absorbed by the NDC, insisting that its grassroots structure should remain independent.

That position now clashes with the NDC’s argument that candidates and support groups operating around the party’s presidential ticket must respect the party’s formal authority.

The disagreement is therefore about more than one campaign council.It raises a basic political-organisational question: where does the authority of a support movement end and the authority of the political party begin?

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Both sides now claim a legitimate organisational role.

The NDC says campaign structures bearing the party’s name require approval from its leadership.

The OK Movement says its own internal activities do not depend on the personal approval of individual party officials.

The dispute comes as political groups begin laying down structures for the 2027 election, making questions about control, mobilisation and party discipline increasingly important.

For now, the 59-member campaign council remains at the centre of the disagreement. ValidViewNetwork reports that the NDC has formally dissociated itself from the council, while the OK Movement has rejected the demand that it obtain the party’s approval for its own organisational functions.