The Obi-Kwankwaso Movement, popularly known as the OK Movement, has demanded an apology from the National Chairman of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Senator Moses Cleopas, over his comments concerning the movement’s recently unveiled 59-member Presidential Campaign Council.
The movement also rejected what it described as intimidation and insisted that it remained an independent political organisation with its own leadership, structure and internal processes.
The National Secretary of the OK Movement, Saadatu Sani, made the position known in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, following a disagreement between the group and the NDC over the status of the campaign council.
The dispute began after the OK Movement announced a 59-member Presidential Campaign Council on Thursday. The council comprises zonal and state coordinators as well as directors responsible for areas including mobilisation, women affairs, strategy, security, legal affairs and other campaign activities ahead of the 2027 general elections.
John Ughulu was named Director-General of the council, while Sani was also listed among its leadership.
However, the NDC subsequently dissociated itself from the announcement, saying the campaign council did not emanate from the party and should be disregarded by the public and the media.
Cleopas said only the party leadership, through its National Working Committee, was authorised to constitute and announce a presidential campaign council or any other structure in the name of the NDC.
The NDC chairman also warned candidates and support groups against creating structures that could undermine the authority of the party. He maintained that individuals contesting under the NDC platform remained subject to the party’s authority and discipline.
Responding to the position, Sani said the OK Movement respected the constitutional and statutory responsibilities of political parties but did not accept that its independent organisational activities were subject to the personal approval of NDC officials.
She urged Cleopas to familiarise himself with the NDC constitution before making assertions about the rights and responsibilities of political movements.
“The OK Movement does not engage in such politics. We will not be dragged into a politics of personal insults, intimidation or defamatory exchanges,” Sani said, according to the statement.
She called on the NDC chairman to withdraw statements the movement considered defamatory and tender an immediate apology to the organisation and its Director-General, Ughulu.
Sani further maintained that the OK Movement would continue to support the NDC’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates, Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso, while retaining its separate organisational identity.
She said the movement had its own leadership, ideology and internal processes and was not established merely as a temporary support group for the 2027 election cycle.
According to Sani, the movement has a nationwide grassroots structure and claimed that its internal records contain approximately 2.5 million registered members and coordinators. That membership figure is the movement’s own claim and was not independently verified in the reports reviewed.
The disagreement has also extended to the NDC’s disciplinary action against Ughulu. The party said it had referred him to its appropriate disciplinary organ over what it described as his “excesses” during the Lagos State primary election and alleged disregard for party authority.
Ughulu, however, rejected the suggestion that the OK Movement was under the control of the NDC. He told PUNCH Online that the movement was independent of the party and worked for the candidates it supported.
The NDC, while rejecting the campaign council, said it recognised and appreciated the contributions of support groups and encouraged their continued support. It nevertheless maintained that such groups should not operate as alternative or parallel structures of the party.
The latest disagreement comes as political parties, candidates and support organisations continue preparations for the 2027 general elections.
For now, the central issue remains the relationship between the NDC as a political party and the OK Movement as an independent organisation supporting the party’s presidential ticket, with both sides maintaining different positions on the extent of the movement’s organisational autonomy.
The OK Movement said it would continue its activities while calling for what it described as respectful engagement and adherence to established rules. The NDC has maintained that campaign structures operating in its name require approval from the party leadership.
