State chairmen of the Nigeria Democratic Congress have reaffirmed the supremacy of the party’s structures amid disagreements over the activities of the Obi-Kwankwaso Movement ahead of the 2027 general elections.
While some chairmen accused the movement of sidelining existing party structures, others said there was no disagreement in their states, noting that arrangements were being made to accommodate the various support groups.
The NDC leaders, who spoke with Sunday PUNCH across 10 states, maintained that the Obidient and Kwankwasiyyah movements were support groups and could not establish parallel campaign structures or conduct activities without the party’s approval.
The disagreement followed the party’s September 19 decision to disown a 59-member Presidential Campaign Council announced by the Obi-Kwankwaso Movement, popularly known as the OK Movement, for Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso.
The NDC also warned that no individual, candidate or support group was authorised to constitute or announce a campaign council or structure in the party’s name without approval from its National Working Committee.
NDC National Leader, Seriake Dickson, subsequently criticised the activities of the OK Movement, warning support groups against operating as parallel structures or competing with the party for control.
However, the Director-General of the OK Movement, John Ughulu, rejected the position, insisting that the movement would not collapse or surrender its structures to the NDC.
The NDC Chairman in Osun State, Charles Omidiji, said no movement or group was superior to the party.
He said candidates could organise separate campaigns but must obtain the party’s approval and carry its structures along.
“They are just groups and we have said that the groups cannot do their campaign in isolation. They may have one-on-one campaigns because you cannot tell a candidate not to campaign on his own.
“They can campaign on their own, but they will refer back to the party to carry them along,” Omidiji said.
He added that any candidate who campaigned independently of the party structure would be doing so without the party’s supervision.
Omidiji said the party was already working with support and interest groups to organise a broad-based campaign.
Similarly, the Ogun State NDC Chairman, Femi Alao, said no movement could conduct campaign activities without the party’s approval.
“There is nothing like disagreement between the NDC and the OK Movement. What we are saying is that the party is supreme and we should all come together to have a common front,” he said.
Alao added that the party had put mechanisms in place to accommodate different interest groups.
The Kano State NDC Chairman, Hussaini Meriga, also said the Obi-Kwankwaso Movement must operate within the party’s rules.
“The party is supreme over any other movement. Though Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso had their separate movements before coming into the same platform to contest, their movements are under the party. They must obey the party’s rules and regulations,” he said.
In Anambra, however, the state NDC Chairman, David Chukwudifu, alleged that the Obidient Movement had sidelined him and the party’s 326 ward chairmen.
Chukwudifu said the situation had affected political activities in the state and called on the national leadership to intervene.
He also alleged that efforts to get Obi to intervene had not yielded a response.
The Edo State NDC Chairman, David Olukoga, described both the Obi and Kwankwaso movements as support groups operating under the party.
“Both Obi and Kwankwaso movements are support groups and we have various support groups within the party, just as we have the students’ movement, traders’ movement and traditional movement,” he said.
Olukoga said the party would soon inaugurate its campaign structure and include the various groups.
Meanwhile, the NDC National Vice Chairman, South-East, Teddy Obey, urged party stakeholders and members of the OK Movement to work together ahead of the 2027 election.
Obey said it would not be in the party’s interest for candidates or support groups to operate separately.
“They cannot have a separate platform for the campaign. We must have a common front,” he said.
He added that the party was working with both movements to reach an agreement on campaign activities.
The National Convener of the OK Movement, Jackie Wayas, rejected allegations that the group was operating independently of the party.
“There is no way the movement can work in isolation. The party is our party, and our principal is in the party. I don’t think the goal of the movement is to work in isolation,” Wayas said.
She added that the movement’s objective was to promote the party’s platform and support its presidential candidate.
In Adamawa, NDC Chairman Ibrahim Bebetu denied reports of a dispute between the party and the OK Movement.
He said the campaign structure to be released by the national headquarters would accommodate all interest groups.
“There is nothing like division among us. We will still have another campaign list to accommodate every interest group,” Bebetu said.
The NDC Chairman in the Federal Capital Territory, Haruna Pai, also said the matter had been resolved after a meeting with leaders of the Kwankwasiyyah and Obidient movements in Abuja.
In Plateau State, the NDC said it had created a Directorate of Support Groups to coordinate the activities of affiliated movements.
The state chairman, Ndam Solomon, said the Obidient Movement coordinator, Dr Jerry Bako, was appointed to head the directorate, which would register and coordinate support groups.
The NDC chairman in Enugu State said the party and the Obidient Movement were working harmoniously, while his counterpart in Akwa Ibom, Dr Willie Bassey, said there was no disagreement between the state chapter and the OK Movement.
The Niger State NDC Secretary, Joseph Mamman, also described the relationship between the party and the Obidient Movement in the state as cordial.
