OK Movement Stands Firm on Campaign Council Despite NDC Pushback

The Obi-Kwankwaso Movement has doubled down on its decision to maintain its 59-member Presidential Campaign Council, flatly rejecting pressure from senior Nigeria Democratic Congress figures to dissolve the structure. The movement's National Director-General, John Ozyl Ughulu, issued a statement in Abuja making clear that the organisation will not reverse course despite opposition from party leadership.

The friction has pitted the grassroots movement against prominent NDC officials. Senator Seriake Dickson, the party's national leader, denounced the campaign council as misguided, while presidential candidate Peter Obi aligned with Dickson's criticism, contending that support groups should not assume functions that properly belong to the party itself.

In its rebuttal, the OK Movement asserted its organisational autonomy and independence from both the NDC and Obi personally. Ughulu stated that the movement operates according to its own founding principles and has received no financial backing from Obi or the party to conduct its operations.

The movement argued that its internal decisions and structural arrangements do not require approval from the NDC or any individual leader. The disagreement reflects broader questions about the relationship between formal party structures and independent campaign movements within Nigerian politics.

The OK Movement framed its position as one of principle—that organisations backing a candidate must retain independence while offering support. The 2027 election cycle has not yet begun in earnest, but this early clash signals potential tensions between centralised party control and distributed campaign infrastructure.