The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) is facing a deepening crisis as the Obi-Kwankwaso Movement, or OK Movement, has rejected attempts to place its organisational structure under the control of the party. According to Hon John Ozyl Ughulu, National Director-General of the OK Movement, the movement remains an independent political organisation. Ughulu stated this amid a disagreement over the relationship between the party and support organisations mobilising behind its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and vice-presidential candidate, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
Ughulu's statement follows comments attributed to NDC National Leader, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson, that support groups should not compete with or assume the role of the political party sponsoring candidates. While Ughulu agreed with Dickson's position that the Obidient Movement was a support movement, he argued that the same description could not automatically be applied to the OK Movement. The OK Movement, Ughulu said, is an independent political organization, not a support group created as an appendage of any political party or another movement.
The OK Movement, according to Ughulu, is independently organised, managed, and structured through its own mechanisms, comprising members drawn from different political parties who share common political aspirations around Obi and Kwankwaso. Ughulu took issue with Dickson's reported description of the movement's position as "nonsensical," arguing that political organisation has evolved beyond conventional party structures. The OK Movement's cooperation with the NDC, Ughulu said, should be understood as political collaboration rather than organisational subordination.
Ughulu stressed that the OK Movement would continue to mobilise, campaign, and vote for the NDC candidates while retaining control of its own organisational structures. The movement, he said, has established structures at the national, state, local government, and ward levels, which cannot be appropriated or transferred to another organisation. Ughulu rejected any suggestion that the movement would surrender its structures to the NDC for management, emphasising that the OK Movement will not be collapsed, merged, or subsumed into the NDC Party or any other organization.
The dispute also extends to campaign structures, with the OK Movement insisting that it has the right to establish its own campaign council and mobilisation strategy in support of the NDC candidates. Ughulu said the movement is not aware of any provision of the NDC Party constitution that expressly prohibits an independent political organization from establishing its own campaign council or mobilization structure in support of the party's candidates. This development could further test the relationship between the NDC and the various political movements supporting its 2027 presidential ticket.
Ughulu stressed that the movement is not seeking supremacy over the NDC or attempting to usurp the party's constitutional powers. The OK Movement, he said, recognises the authority of the NDC over its internal affairs but expects the party to equally recognise the independent identity and organisational rights of the OK Movement. Ughulu warned that the movement would resist, through "lawful and democratic means," any attempt to disenfranchise its members, appropriate its structures, or unilaterally redefine its identity.
The OK Movement remains committed to supporting Obi and Kwankwaso while maintaining its independent identity and structures. The movement, Ughulu said, has been built through the commitment, sacrifice, and participation of thousands of members and coordinators across the country. No individual, he emphasised, can simply declare that structure dissolved, transferred, or absorbed without the authority of the Movement's legitimate organs.
Key points
- The OK Movement has rejected attempts to place its organisational structure under the control of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) party.
- The movement insists it is an independent political organisation and will not be collapsed, merged, or subsumed into the NDC Party or any other organization.
- The dispute may further test the relationship between the NDC and the various political movements supporting its 2027 presidential ticket.
