The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has rejected the creation of a Presidential Campaign Council by the Obi-Kwankwaso Movement, saying support groups must not operate as the political party.
Obi stated this on Arise TV’s Prime Time programme on Thursday while responding to the recent disagreement between the NDC and the OK Movement over the 59-member campaign council unveiled by the group.
The former Anambra State governor said the NDC remained the political party to which the supporters of his 2027 presidential bid belonged, adding that the OK Movement, Obidient groups and Kwankwasiyya should function as support groups.
“First, NDC is the political party we all belong to. And I agree entirely with the position of the leader (Seriake Dickson). OK Movement, Obidient group, Kwankwasiyya, and other supporting groups are supporting groups. They must play their role as supporting groups, supporting the party.
“They should not play the role of the party. We’ve found a situation where one of the supporting groups is using the nomenclature, that is forming Presidential Campaign Council, it shouldn’t be. No,” Obi said.
The OK Movement had, on September 17, unveiled a 59-member Presidential Campaign Council comprising zonal and state coordinators as well as directors responsible for mobilisation, women’s affairs, strategy, security, legal affairs and other areas.
The NDC subsequently dissociated itself from the council, saying it did not emanate from the party and that only the party leadership could constitute and announce its Presidential Campaign Council.
Asked whether the OK Movement campaign council had been created with his knowledge or approval, Obi said it had not.
“Not at all. And I say it here, it is wrong. You are supporting—OK Movement is Obi and Kwankwaso. So whatever you do must have express approval of both of us,” he said.
The development comes after NDC National Leader and former Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, said support groups should complement the party rather than establish structures that perform the functions of its official campaign machinery.
Dickson had described the establishment of a presidential campaign council by a support group as unusual and said such groups should focus on grassroots support and mobilisation.
The OK Movement, however, has maintained that it is an independent political organisation and has rejected attempts to subordinate its structures to the NDC.
Its leadership previously said it would not collapse, merge or surrender its national, state, local government and ward structures to the party.
The NDC has since given Obi and his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, the authority to nominate key officials of the party’s official Presidential Campaign Council in consultation with the party leadership.
