The Obi-Kwankwaso Movement, popularly known as the OK Movement, has vowed not to collapse or surrender its organisational structure to the Nigeria Democratic Congress ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The Director-General of the movement, John Ughulu, said on Wednesday that the group would retain its national, state, local government and ward structures despite its political alignment with the NDC.
Ughulu was reacting to comments by the NDC National Leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, who said support groups should complement the political party rather than operate as parallel structures.
Dickson, a former Bayelsa State governor, spoke in Abuja on Tuesday at the unveiling of former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal.
He described the OK Movement’s decision to establish a presidential campaign council as “unheard of” and “nonsensical”, insisting that support groups should operate within their proper role.
But Ughulu said the OK Movement was not a conventional support group created as an appendage of a political party.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the OK Movement is not a support group created as an appendage of any political party or another movement. It is independently organised, managed and structured through its own established movement mechanisms,” he said.
He also defended the movement’s decision to establish its own campaign council for Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso, saying its members were drawn from different political parties but shared support for the NDC presidential candidates.
“So it is not nonsensical as claimed by Seriake Dickson; rather, the national leader of the NDC Party should come to realise that politics has long evolved from the conventional political system he is used to,” Ughulu said.
The DG stressed that the movement would continue to mobilise support for Obi and Kwankwaso while retaining its organisational independence.
“The OK Movement remains an independent organisation. Its existence and internal administration are not subject to the internal management of the NDC.
“The OK Movement will not be collapsed, merged or subsumed into the NDC or any other organisation. Cooperation and political alignment do not extinguish the independent identity of the Movement,” he said.
Ughulu added that the movement would not hand over its existing structures to the NDC or any other organisation.
“Our organisational structure remains the property and responsibility of the OK Movement.
We will not surrender our established national, state, local government and ward structures to any political party or external support group for management,” he said.
He maintained that the movement was not seeking to take over the authority of the NDC, but warned against any attempt to appropriate its structures.
“The OK Movement does not claim supremacy over the NDC Party, nor does it seek to usurp the constitutional powers of the party.
“We respect the NDC and recognise the constitutional authority of the party over its own internal affairs.
Equally, the NDC and every other organisation must recognise the independent identity, structure and legitimate interests of the OK Movement,” Ughulu said.
He added that the movement would resist any attempt to dissolve, transfer or absorb its structures without the approval of its legitimate organs.
The dispute followed the NDC’s rejection of a 59-member Presidential Campaign Council announced by the OK Movement to mobilise support for Obi and Kwankwaso ahead of the 2027 elections.
The NDC National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas, said the party did not authorise the movement to constitute or announce a campaign council in its name.
The party warned that no individual, candidate or support group could establish a campaign structure on behalf of the NDC without approval from its National Working Committee.
In response, the OK Movement’s National Secretary, Saadatu Sani, demanded an apology from Cleopas, maintaining that the movement was an independent political organisation with its own leadership, structure and internal processes.
