The Obi–Kwankwaso Movement, popularly known as the OK Movement, has rejected any move to bring its organisational structure under the control of the Nigeria Democratic Congress ahead of the 2027 general elections. According to Punch, the movement’s Director-General, John Ughulu, made the position known on Wednesday while responding to comments……
The Obi–Kwankwaso Movement, popularly known as the OK Movement, has rejected any move to bring its organisational structure under the control of the Nigeria Democratic Congress ahead of the 2027 general elections.
According to Punch, the movement’s Director-General, John Ughulu, made the position known on Wednesday while responding to comments by NDC National Leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, on the relationship between political parties and support groups.
Dickson had maintained that support groups should complement the political parties backing their candidates rather than operate as competing or parallel structures.
He spoke at the unveiling of former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, in Abuja on Tuesday.
The former Bayelsa governor said the existence of multiple support groups was normal during political campaigns but insisted that such organisations should remain within their expected roles.
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Dickson also described the OK Movement’s establishment of a presidential campaign council as “unheard of” and “nonsensical”, arguing that the NDC would continue to engage support groups while expecting them to operate appropriately.
Reacting, Ughulu said the OK Movement should not be treated as an ordinary support group, describing it as an independent political organisation with its own structure and administrative mechanisms.
He said, “I strongly agree with the position expressed by Senator Seriake Dickson. However, there appears to be a missing link in the argument currently being advanced.
“If the Obidient Movement is regarded as a support movement, and if the Obidients and Kwankwasiyya have equally been described by Idris Zekeri, while claiming to speak on behalf of Peter Obi, as a support movement, then it becomes necessary to properly define the identity and status of the Obi-Kwankwaso Movement, popularly known as the OK Movement.”
“For the avoidance of doubt, the OK Movement is not a support group created as an appendage of any political party or another movement. It is independently organised, managed and structured through its own established movement mechanisms.”
Ughulu also took issue with Dickson’s characterisation of the movement’s decision to establish a campaign council as “nonsensical”.
He explained that the movement draws its membership from different political parties and brings together supporters of the NDC presidential ticket of Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso.
“So it is not nonsensical as claimed by Seriake Dickson; rather, the national leader of the NDC Party should come to realise that politics has long evolved from the conventional political system he is used to.
“The OK Movement comprises individuals and members from different political parties who share a common commitment to the ideals, values and political aspirations represented by the presidential candidate, Peter Obi and his running mate, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso,” he stated.
According to Ughulu, the movement would continue its mobilisation activities for the candidates without giving up its independent organisational identity.
He said the political relationship between the movement and the NDC should not be interpreted as placing its internal affairs under the control of the party.
“The OK Movement remains an independent organisation. Its existence and internal administration are not subject to the internal management of the NDC.
“The OK Movement will not be collapsed, merged or subsumed into the NDC or any other organisation. Cooperation and political alignment do not extinguish the independent identity of the Movement,” he said.
“Our organisational structure remains the property and responsibility of the OK Movement. We will not surrender our established national, state, local government and ward structures to any political party or external support group for management,” he said.
Ughulu further maintained that the movement could establish its own campaign and mobilisation structures in support of the NDC candidates, saying he was not aware of any provision in the party’s constitution expressly prohibiting such an arrangement.
He stressed that the movement was not attempting to challenge or take over the authority of the NDC.
He also warned against attempts to assume control of the structures established by the OK Movement.
“Let us also make one important distinction absolutely clear. The OK Movement does not claim supremacy over the NDC Party, nor does it seek to usurp the constitutional powers of the party.
“We respect the NDC and recognise the constitutional authority of the party over its own internal affairs. Equally, the NDC and every other organisation must recognise the independent identity, structure and legitimate interests of the OK Movement.
“However, we will resist, through lawful and democratic means, any attempt by any individual or group to disenfranchise members of the movement, appropriate its structures, or unilaterally redefine its identity. We did not build the OK Movement overnight.
“Therefore, no individual can simply declare that structure dissolved, transferred or absorbed without the authority of the Movement’s legitimate organs. We will not be intimidated, surrender our identity or abandon the structures we have built,” he warned.
The dispute followed the OK Movement’s constitution of a 59-member Presidential Campaign Council to mobilise support for Obi and Kwankwaso ahead of the 2027 election. The movement unveiled the council on September 17, with Ughulu named Director-General and Saadatu Sani appointed secretary.
The NDC subsequently distanced itself from the campaign council, with National Chairman Senator Moses Cleopas saying the structure was not authorised by the party.
The party warned that no individual, candidate or support group could establish a campaign structure in the NDC’s name without approval from its National Working Committee.
In response, the OK Movement’s National Secretary, Saadatu Sani, rejected the requirement for individual approval from NDC officials, maintaining that the movement was an independent organisation with its own leadership, structure and internal processes.
