By James Adamu
Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, has thrown his weight behind the party’s national leader, Seriake Dickson, in the ongoing rift between the NDC and the Obi-Kwankwaso Movement over the composition of a campaign council for the 2027 general elections.
Speaking on Arise TV’s Prime Time programme on Thursday, Obi made it clear that the NDC remains the sole political platform for his presidential ambition, insisting that support groups like the OK Movement, the Obidient movement, and the Kwankwasiyya must restrict themselves to supportive roles rather than functioning as the party itself.
“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,” Obi said.
The former Anambra State governor did not mince words as he addressed the controversial 59-member Presidential Campaign Council unveiled by the OK Movement on September 17. According to him, it was improper for a support group to adopt the nomenclature and structure of an official party campaign council.
“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,” he stated.
When asked whether the OK Movement’s campaign council had been constituted with his knowledge or approval, Obi was unequivocal in his denial.
“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 OK Movement had, on September 17, rolled out a 59-member Presidential Campaign Council comprising zonal and state coordinators as well as directors overseeing mobilisation, women’s affairs, strategy, security, legal matters, and other portfolios.
The NDC wasted no time in distancing itself from the council, stating categorically that it did not originate from the party and that only the party’s leadership has the authority to constitute and announce its official Presidential Campaign Council.
The party’s National Leader and former Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, had earlier emphasised that support groups ought to complement the party’s efforts rather than establish structures that duplicate or usurp the functions of its official campaign machinery. He described the creation of a presidential campaign council by a support group as an unusual development, advising such groups to concentrate on grassroots mobilisation and support.
The OK Movement, however, has stood its ground, maintaining that it is an independent political organisation and rejecting any attempt to subordinate its structures to the NDC. Its leadership had previously declared that it would not collapse, merge, or surrender its national, state, local government, and ward structures to the party.
In what appears to be a move to restore order, the NDC has granted 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.
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