A fresh crisis is looming within the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) following a sharp disagreement between the party leadership and the Obi-Kwankwaso Movement, popularly known as the OK Movement, over the authority of the movement to organise and mobilise support for the party’s candidates ahead of the 2027 general election.
The latest confrontation followed the movement’s rejection of the position expressed on Saturday by the NDC National Chairman, Senator Cleopas Moses, over a 59-member Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) unveiled by the support group.
While the NDC had already dissociated itself from the council and maintained that only the party leadership could constitute and announce its campaign structures, the OK Movement on Sunday fired back, insisting that it remained an independent political movement with its own leadership, organisational structure, ideology and internal processes.
The movement also demanded that Moses withdraw statements it considered defamatory and tender an apology to the organisation and its National Director-General, Hon. John Ozyl Ughulu.
The latest development has widened what was initially a disagreement over the status of a campaign council into a broader dispute over the relationship between the NDC as a political party and the independent movement supporting its presidential ticket.
In a statement signed by its National Secretary, Saadatu Sani, and made available to newsmen on Sunday, the OK Movement said its decision to support the NDC candidates did not amount to submitting its organisational structure to the control of the party.
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👉 JOIN WHATSAPP CHANNELPart of the statement read: “For the avoidance of doubt, the OK Movement recognises the supremacy of political parties within their constitutional and statutory sphere. We also recognise the importance of working with the NDC Party and supporting its candidates.
“However, the OK Movement is an independent political movement with its own leadership, organisational structure, ideology and internal processes.”
The movement declared that it would campaign for the NDC presidential and vice-presidential candidates as well as other party candidates in areas where it had resolved to support them.
It nevertheless insisted that it did not require the “personal validation or approval of any individual” before exercising what it described as its legitimate organisational functions.
The group also rejected any suggestion that its activities were motivated by the pursuit of political appointments or positions within the party, saying its support was based on the principles upon which the movement was founded.
The dispute follows the NDC’s earlier public rejection of the 59-member PCC announced under the OK Movement banner.
The party had said the announcement did not emanate from its leadership and should be disregarded by the public and the media.
It further maintained that NDC candidates remained subject to the authority and discipline of the party and warned individuals and support groups against announcing campaign councils or structures in the party’s name without prior approval from the National Working Committee.
The NDC had also stressed that support groups were welcome to continue their activities but should not present themselves as alternative or parallel structures of the party.
The party subsequently referred Ugulu to its appropriate disciplinary organ, citing what it described as his conduct during the Lagos State primary and repeated disregard for party authority.
Rather than accepting the party’s position, however, the OK Movement has now challenged the basis of the criticism and defended the independence of its organisational structure.
The movement said it had developed a nationwide grassroots network and claimed that its internal membership records contained approximately 2.5 million registered members and coordinators with supporting data.
That figure, however, remains an internal claim of the movement and has not been independently verified.
The group maintained that it was not a temporary support organisation established merely for the 2027 election cycle but a long-term political movement founded around what it described as demands for a better political system, economic opportunity, accountability and citizen-centred governance.
The movement also warned against what it described as attempts to drag it into personal attacks and public exchanges.
“The OK Movement will not be dragged into a politics of personal insults, intimidation or defamatory exchanges,” it said.
It called instead for what it described as education, presentation of facts and protection of the integrity of its members.
The movement’s latest statement is particularly significant because it does not reject collaboration with the NDC.
Rather, it draws a distinction between supporting the party’s candidates and becoming subject to the party’s organisational authority.
That distinction is at the heart of the emerging dispute.
The NDC maintains that candidates contesting elections on its platform are products of the party and therefore subject to its constitution, leadership and disciplinary procedures.
The party has also insisted that campaign structures bearing its name cannot be established without authorisation from the appropriate party organs.
The OK Movement, on the other hand, argues that its role as a support organisation does not extinguish its separate identity or internal authority.
It further alleged that the NDC chairman had made statements concerning Ugulu’s involvement in the Lagos State primary and said it welcomed the opportunity to put its own position on record.
The movement urged Moses to familiarise himself with the NDC constitution before making what it described as sweeping assertions about the rights, responsibilities and independence of an organisation such as the OK Movement.
It said the movement’s principles were “not for sale” and could not be compromised for political convenience.
The latest confrontation could now test the capacity of the NDC leadership to manage relations with independent support organisations as preparations for the 2027 election intensify.
Although both sides say they are committed to supporting the same presidential project, their disagreement over organisational authority has exposed a potentially difficult fault line between the formal party structure and grassroots political movements operating in support of its candidates.
For the moment, the OK Movement has made it clear that it intends to continue campaigning for NDC candidates while retaining its organisational independence.
It also insists that it will not surrender that independence or accept what it considers attempts at intimidation.
The movement ended its statement with a declaration that its organisation was bigger than any individual and that its principles remained non-negotiable.
With the NDC leadership insisting on the supremacy of its formal structures and the OK Movement asserting its independence, the dispute could become a major test of internal cohesion within the party as it moves deeper into preparations for the 2027 general election.
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