The Obi-Kwankwaso Movement, popularly known as the OK Movement, has demanded an immediate apology from the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) over comments made by the party’s National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas, regarding the group’s 59-member Presidential Campaign Council.
According to the movement, the NDC chairman’s comments were unacceptable and could not be allowed to undermine its identity as an independent political organisation.
The National Secretary of the OK Movement, Saadatu Sani, made the position known in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday.
She also warned that the movement would not be intimidated into abandoning its structure or submitting its internal affairs to individuals within the NDC.
The dispute followed the unveiling of the 59-member Presidential Campaign Council by the OK Movement on Thursday.
The council was announced as part of the movement’s mobilisation efforts for the NDC presidential ticket of Peter Obi and his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, ahead of the 2027 general elections.
However, the NDC subsequently distanced itself from the structure.
In a statement issued on Saturday night, Cleopas said the campaign council was not authorised by the party and should not be recognised as an official structure of the NDC.
The National Chairman also maintained that individuals, candidates and support groups could not establish or announce campaign structures in the name of the party without approval from the National Working Committee.
The development has now created a fresh disagreement between the party and one of the major support structures associated with the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket.
Responding to the NDC chairman, Sani said the statement showed a misunderstanding of the position and character of the OK Movement.
She urged Cleopas to familiarise himself with the constitution of the party before making statements about the rights and responsibilities of the movement.
Sani said the OK Movement was not established as a temporary campaign group that would cease to exist after the 2027 elections.
She described it as an independent political organisation with its own leadership, structures, membership and internal decision-making process.
She said the movement would continue to support the NDC presidential candidates but would not surrender its organisational independence to the party.
She said, “The OK Movement does not engage in such politics. We will not be dragged into a politics of personal insults, intimidation or defamatory exchanges. We will continue to educate rather than abuse. We will continue to defend the principles upon which this movement was established.
“The NDC national chairman is therefore called upon to withdraw the statements considered defamatory and to tender an immediate apology to the OK Movement and to our Director General, Hon. John Ughulu.”
The demand comes days after the NDC formally dissociated itself from the campaign council.
The party had said that only its authorised leadership could constitute and announce a Presidential Campaign Council in its name.
The NDC also maintained that support groups remained important to its political mobilisation but should not present themselves as parallel organs of the party.
The OK Movement, however, said supporting the NDC candidates did not automatically make the organisation a subordinate structure of the party.
According to Sani, the movement recognises the authority of political parties within the limits provided by law and their constitutions.
She said the OK Movement would campaign for Obi and Kwankwaso and would also support NDC candidates across the country in areas where the movement had decided to back them.
“We will campaign for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates of the party. We will campaign for candidates of the NDC Party across the country where the movement has resolved to support them.
“But we do not require the personal validation or approval of any individual before exercising our legitimate organisational functions,” Sani said.
She further claimed that the movement had built a nationwide grassroots network with an internal database containing about 2.5 million registered members and coordinators.
The National Secretary said the size of the structure demonstrated why the organisation should not be treated as an ordinary campaign support group.
She maintained that the movement had a long-term political vision beyond the 2027 presidential election.
The latest disagreement also touches on allegations surrounding the role of the OK Movement’s Director-General, John Ughulu, in the NDC’s Lagos State primary.
The NDC had earlier referred Ughulu to its appropriate disciplinary organ over what it described as his conduct during the primary and alleged disregard for party authority.
The party said the decision was part of measures to enforce discipline among those operating under its platform.
The OK Movement has rejected the allegations concerning its Director-General.
Sani said the movement welcomed the opportunity to put its position on record and defend its members whenever their integrity was questioned.
She also maintained that the organisation would not respond to the dispute through personal attacks.
At a leadership summit in Abuja in August, the movement reaffirmed its independent status and retained Ughulu as its founder and Director-General.
The group said at the time that its decision to remain independent would not prevent cooperation with political organisations where their interests aligned.
The NDC has also sought to play down the idea that the party is opposed to the Obi and Kwankwaso support movements.
In a separate statement on Sunday, the party’s National Secretary, Osa Director, said the NDC remained proud to have the Obidient and Kwankwasiya movements within its political structure.
He described both movements as important parts of the political mobilisation around the party’s presidential ticket.
Director said the NDC and the OK Movement remained united around the objective of supporting Obi and Kwankwaso.
He said, “The NDC and the OK Movement are united and committed to the objective of ensuring victory for our presidential candidate and his running mate, Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.”
In a related development, the NDC had on Saturday formally dissociated itself from the 59-member Presidential Campaign Council announced by the OK Movement, insisting that the structure was not approved by the party.
The party also warned individuals and support groups against announcing campaign structures in its name without clearance from the National Working Committee.
