The Obi-Kwankwaso Movement, popularly known as the OK Movement, has demanded an immediate apology from the National Chairman of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Senator Moses Cleopas, following the party’s rejection of the movement’s recently unveiled 59-member Presidential Campaign Council.
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The movement also rejected what it described as intimidation and insisted that it remains an independent political organisation with its own leadership, structure and internal processes, despite its support for the NDC presidential ticket of Peter Obi and his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso.
The OK Movement’s National Secretary, Saadatu Sani, stated its position in Abuja on Sunday, a day after the NDC leadership dissociated the party from the campaign council announced by the movement.
The controversy began after the OK Movement unveiled a 59-member campaign structure comprising zonal and state coordinators as well as directors responsible for mobilisation, women affairs, strategy, security, legal affairs and other functions across the six geopolitical zones, the Federal Capital Territory and the 36 states. John Ughulu was named Director-General of the structure, while Sani serves as National Secretary.
But Cleopas, speaking for the NDC, said the council did not emanate from the party and should be disregarded by the public and the media.
“The party hereby dissociates itself in totality from the said OK Movement PCC announcement. It did not emanate from the party and should be disregarded by the public and the media,” the NDC chairman said.
The party maintained that its candidates were products of the NDC and remained subject to its authority and discipline, adding that only the party leadership could constitute and announce a Presidential Campaign Council.
Cleopas further warned that no candidate, member or support group was authorised to establish or publish a campaign council or other structure in the name of the NDC without the prior approval of its National Working Committee.
The NDC said it welcomed support groups backing its candidates but insisted that such organisations could not operate as alternative or parallel organs of the party.
It also referred Ughulu to the party’s appropriate disciplinary organ, citing what Cleopas described as his “excesses” during the Lagos State primary election and repeated disregard for the party’s authority.
Responding on Sunday, however, Sani said the NDC chairman’s position reflected what the movement considered a misunderstanding of its status and independence.
She urged Cleopas to familiarise himself with the NDC constitution before making assertions concerning the rights and responsibilities of the movement.
“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,” Sani said.
She consequently demanded the withdrawal of statements the movement considered defamatory and an apology to both the organisation and its Director-General.
“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,” she said.
The movement, however, said it recognised the supremacy of political parties within their constitutional and statutory spheres and remained committed to campaigning for Obi and Kwankwaso, as well as other NDC candidates whom the movement independently resolves to support across the country.
It insisted that supporting the NDC’s candidates did not transform the OK Movement into a subordinate organ of the party.
“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.
The movement further claimed that it had built a nationwide grassroots network backed by an internal database containing approximately 2.5 million registered members and coordinators. That figure is the movement’s own stated membership claim.
Sani said the organisation should not be regarded merely as a temporary support group established for the 2027 general elections, maintaining that it has a longer-term political vision and its own organisational identity.
She also rejected allegations concerning Ughulu’s involvement in the Lagos State primary, saying the movement welcomed an opportunity to place its position on the record.
The OK Movement maintained that it would not engage in personal attacks or intimidation but would continue to defend its members whenever their integrity was questioned.
Ughulu had earlier also responded to the NDC’s position by saying that the OK Movement, like other political movements, was independent of the party and worked for the candidates it regarded as its principals.
“The OK Movement, just like other political groups and movements, is not under the control of the party. We work for the candidates, who are our principals,” he said.
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