2027: OK Movement Faults NDC Campaign Council List

The Obi-Kwankwaso (OK) Movement has criticised the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) over its National Campaign Council appointments, questioning the party’s readiness for the 2027 general elections and claiming to have a stronger grassroots network.

The movement’s Director-General, John Ughulu, said the NDC had taken too long to organise its campaign structure, arguing that political ambition alone could not secure electoral victory without effective grassroots mobilisation and coordination.

Ughulu made the remarks in a statement released to journalists in Abuja on Monday, a day after the NDC announced its campaign council ahead of its inauguration in the Federal Capital Territory.

He claimed that many of those appointed to the council could eventually turn to the OK Movement for the grassroots support and organisational capacity they had yet to establish.

Ughulu also questioned why the party was announcing its presidential campaign council less than three months before the general elections, asking what preparations it had made before the appointments.

He said, “The funny part of this list is that 90 per cent of the people on it will still come knocking on the doors of the OK Movement to beg for the very structure they have failed to build themselves!”

Ughulu added, “With less than three months to the general elections, they are only just announcing their Presidential Campaign Council. What exactly have they been doing all this time? Where is the structure? Where is the strategy? Where is the machinery required to prosecute a serious national election?”

The criticism comes as dispute heightens between the NDC and the OK Movement over the movement’s independence and its role in the campaign for the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso.

On Sunday, the NDC named its National Leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, as chairman of the National Campaign Council, with Obi appointed co-chairman.

The party’s National Chairman, Senator Cleopas Moses Zuwoghe, was named vice-chairman, while Kwankwaso will serve as co-vice-chairman.

Other appointees include former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, as chairman of the National Advisory Council; former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege; former presidential candidate, Pat Utomi; and former National Secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change, Buba Galadima.

The NDC National Secretary, Ikenna Enekweizu, was appointed council secretary, while Ibrahim Abdulkarim will serve as Director-General.

Ughulu and the OK Movement’s state, local government and ward coordinators were not included in the appointments.

The development follows an earlier disagreement over the movement’s plan to establish its own presidential campaign council. Dickson had described the move as unnecessary, arguing that support groups should strengthen political parties rather than compete with them or create parallel structures.

Speaking at an event in Abuja last month, Dickson said the NDC was willing to work with support groups but expected them to operate within their designated roles.

Ughulu, however, maintained that the OK Movement was an independent political organisation rather than a conventional support group. He said it would retain its structures at national, state, local government and ward levels rather than hand them over to the NDC or any other organisation.

He argued that electoral success depended on sustained grassroots mobilisation, strategic planning and effective coordination, rather than the prominence of individuals appointed to campaign councils.

Ughulu said the movement had prioritised grassroots organisation long before the election campaign period and was prepared to mobilise support for the Obi-Kwankwaso political project.

He also questioned whether political leaders who had criticised the movement would respect its independence if they later needed its organisational network to reach voters.

“We did not wait for the election to approach before recognising the importance of grassroots organisation. We understood from the beginning that a presidential ambition without a functional grassroots structure is nothing more than a political wish!” Ughulu added.

“But the question is: Will they respect the structure they are now coming to depend on?” he asked.

The NDC is scheduled to inaugurate its National Campaign Council and commission its newly acquired national secretariat in Abuja on Monday.

The activities are also expected to include the presentation of Certificates of Return to the party’s candidates for the presidential, governorship, National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly elections, as part of its third National Executive Committee meeting. A dinner is scheduled to follow.

Ughulu reiterated that the OK Movement would not accept a ceremonial role in the campaign, insisting that its value lay in its organisational capacity and commitment to the Obi-Kwankwaso project.

He said the movement was prepared for the elections and challenged other political actors to demonstrate similar readiness.