OK Movement, NDC Clash Over 59-Member 2027 Campaign Council

A dispute has broken out between the Obi-Kwankwaso Movement, known as the OK Movement, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) over a 59-member presidential campaign council unveiled ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The NDC has rejected the council, saying it was not created by the party and that no support group can establish or announce a campaign structure in the party’s name without approval from its National Working Committee. National Chairman Moses Cleopas said the council should therefore be disregarded.

The OK Movement has pushed back, maintaining that it is an independent political organisation with its own leadership, structure and internal processes. Its National Secretary, Saadatu Sani, described the NDC chairman’s position as a misunderstanding of the movement’s status and demanded an apology for statements the group considers defamatory.

The disagreement centres on the distinction between the movement’s support for the NDC’s presidential ticket and its organisational independence. The OK Movement said it intends to campaign for Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso, as well as NDC candidates it chooses to support across the country, but argued that this does not make it a subordinate structure of the party.

“We will campaign for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates of the party,” Sani said, while insisting that the movement does not require an individual’s approval to carry out its organisational activities. She said the group has developed a nationwide grassroots network with a database representing about 2.5 million registered members.

The 59-member council, announced by the movement last week, includes zonal and state coordinators as well as directors responsible for areas such as grassroots mobilisation, women affairs, contact and engagement, information technology, legal affairs, strategy, security and administration. John Ughulu was named Director-General, while Sani was also included in the campaign leadership.

The NDC had also announced disciplinary action against Ughulu over what Cleopas described as his conduct during the party’s Lagos State primary and what he called repeated disregard for party authority. Ughulu, however, argued that the OK Movement is independent of the NDC and that the party cannot dictate its activities.

Sani said the movement does not intend to engage in personal attacks or intimidation and would continue to defend its members when their integrity is questioned. The dispute now places the relationship between the NDC’s formal party structure and the independent groups mobilising support for its 2027 presidential ticket under closer scrutiny.