NDC disowns OK Movement campaign council, refers convener to panel

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has disowned a purported Presidential Campaign Council announced by the “OK Movement” for Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso, directing its convener, John Ugulu, to face the party’s disciplinary organ.

The party said the campaign council was neither authorised nor constituted by its leadership and urged the public and the media to disregard the list.

NDC National Chairman, Senator Cleopas Moses, disclosed this in a statement issued on Saturday, following a publication attributed to Ugulu.

According to the party, only its National Working Committee has the authority to constitute or announce a Presidential Campaign Council or any other formal structure in its name.

It warned members and support groups against creating or publicising structures without the approval of the NWC.

“All NDC candidates are products of the party and not independent actors,” the statement said, stressing that campaign structures must operate within the party’s established framework.

The party said it welcomed various support groups but warned that such groups must not operate as parallel structures or present themselves as alternative organs of the NDC.

It also urged members with grievances to use the party’s internal mechanisms rather than resorting to public confrontation.

The NDC said Ugulu’s referral to its disciplinary organ was linked to what it described as his “act of affront” and “excesses” during the party’s Lagos State primary, as well as what it called a pattern of disregard for party authority.

The development adds to existing tensions within the relatively new party as it works to consolidate its structures ahead of the 2027 general election.

The NDC was registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission in February 2026 after emerging from a split with the African Democratic Congress. The party was founded by former Bayelsa State Governor and Senator, Henry Seriake Dickson.

Obi and Kwankwaso, who contested the 2023 presidential election on the platforms of the Labour Party and New Nigeria Peoples Party respectively, are now members of the NDC.

However, the party has faced disputes over some of its recent primaries, with aggrieved aspirants in states including Lagos, Delta and Ebonyi alleging irregularities and calling for fresh exercises.

The allegations have included claims of compromised processes, absence of electoral officials and results allegedly announced without due process. The party has faced demands from some aspirants for the cancellation and rerun of disputed primaries.

Despite the internal disagreements, the NDC said it remained committed to building a party based on internal discipline and an issue-driven campaign.

It reiterated its vision of delivering what it described as “a New Nigeria that is POssible.”