The Obi-Kwankwaso Movement, popularly known as the OK Movement, has rejected any attempt by the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) to absorb or control its structures ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The movement also pushed back against the NDC national leader and former Bayelsa State governor, Seriake Dickson, over his description of its 59-member Presidential Campaign Council as “nonsensical.”
The Director-General of the OK Movement, John Ughulu, stated the position while responding to Dickson’s comments on the role of political support groups in the NDC’s preparations for the 2027 elections.
Dickson had criticised the decision by the OK Movement to constitute a 59-member Presidential Campaign Council, arguing that support groups should complement political parties rather than establish structures that compete with the official party machinery.
The NDC leader said support groups should focus on grassroots mobilisation and supporting candidates instead of competing with political parties for influence or organisational space.
“You have several support groups. Support groups don’t compete with the political party that is sponsoring candidates. Support groups don’t compete for supremacy, for space.
“Support groups are what they are – support groups. They don’t play the role of a political party. They don’t sponsor candidates. They provide grassroots support, mobilisation support,” Dickson said.
However, Ughulu disagreed with the characterisation of the OK Movement as an ordinary support group, insisting that it was independently established and operated its own leadership and mobilisation structures.
He said the movement comprised people from different political backgrounds united by their support for Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso, who are being presented by the NDC as its presidential and vice-presidential candidates for 2027.
Ughulu said the controversy over the movement’s status arose from the need to properly define its identity and relationship with the NDC and other political movements.
“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,” he said.
He argued that if the Obidient Movement and Kwankwasiyya were regarded as support movements, as suggested by Idris Zekeri while speaking on behalf of Obi, the identity and status of the OK Movement should also be clearly established.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the OK Movement is not a support group created as an appendage of any political party or another movement,” Ughulu said.
“It is independently organised, managed and structured through its own established movement mechanisms,” he added.
The OK Movement said its national, state, local government and ward structures would remain intact and would not be absorbed into the NDC.
