By Our Reporters
The presidential campaign council list of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) released yesterday has confirmed Spear News Nigeria’s report that some names would be excluded.
Meanwhile, the Obi-Kwankwaso (OK) Movement has taken a swipe at the NDC over the newly unveiled campaign council, alleging that most of its members will soon return to the movement to beg for the grassroots structure they failed to build
Spear News Nigeria had last week exclusively reported that a heated argument between Obi and Dickson over the composition of the campaign council and how campaign funds should be controlled forced the presidential candidate to leave the country in anger.
The report said Obi had submitted a list of nominees for the campaign council which included several content creators and social media influencers who had been vocal supporters of his presidential bid.
Among the names submitted were Precious Oruche, popularly known as Mama Pee, and Peter Akah, also known as Randy Peter, both prominent figures in the Obedient online ecosystem, names Dickson outrightly rejected.
“The leader said NDC cannot turn its campaign council into skit making or comedy show. He told Obi point blank that these people have no business in a presidential campaign council,” a party source had told Spear News.
The report was dismissed in some quarters as false.
The NDC campaign council, announced on Sunday, is chaired by Dickson, with Obi as co-chairman. National Chairman Cleopas Zuwoghe was named vice-chairman, while vice-presidential candidate Rabiu Kwankwaso was appointed co-vice-chairman.
Other members include Babachir Lawal, Ovie Omo-Agege, Pat Utomi and Buba Galadima.
Mama Pee and Randy Peter are not on the list, exactly as Spear News reported.
The tension between Obi and Dickson is not new. The two have been at loggerheads over control of the NDC since Obi joined the party ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The first major flashpoint came in September, when the OK Movement, a support group backing the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket, announced a 59-member Presidential Campaign Council. The NDC leadership disowned it immediately, with National Chairman Cleopas Moses stating that only the party leadership could constitute and announce a campaign council.
Dickson was scathing in his response, describing the OK Movement’s action as nonsensical and insisting that support groups must not compete with the party. “Support groups don’t compete with the political party that is sponsoring candidates. Support groups don’t compete for supremacy, for space. Support groups are what they are: support,” he said.
Obi subsequently backed Dickson’s position in an interview on Arise Television, saying the OK Movement’s campaign council was created without his knowledge or approval. “The campaign council of the OK movement was not created with my knowledge or approval. Not at all,” Obi said. “I agree entirely with the position of the leader.”
But the source told Spear News that Obi’s public endorsement of Dickson masked private frustration, and that Obi felt Dickson was using the party machinery to sideline his core supporters and consolidate control over the campaign.
The source also said Dickson was uncomfortable with Obi’s plans to travel abroad to raise funds directly, rather than channelling all donations through the party’s designated account, a position the party had reinforced at its second National Executive Committee meeting in June.
“The leader said every donation for the campaign must go to the party’s account, not the same thing they did at Labour Party,” the source said. “Obi was not happy about it.”
In related development, the Obi-Kwankwaso (OK) Movement has taken a swipe at the NDC over the newly unveiled campaign council, alleging that most of its members will soon return to the movement to beg for the grassroots structure they failed to build.
In a statement issued on Monday, October 26, the movement’s Director General, John Ughulu, questioned the NDC’s campaign preparedness and organisational capacity ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Ughulu alleged that the party had delayed establishing an effective campaign machinery despite the fast-approaching polls.
“The funny part of this list is that 90 per cent of the people on it will still come knocking on the doors of the OK Movement to beg for the very structure they have failed to build themselves!” he said.
The OK Movement DG also challenged the NDC leadership over the timing of the campaign council’s announcement.
“With less than three months to the general elections, they are only just announcing their Presidential Campaign Council. What exactly have they been doing all this time? Where is the structure? Where is the strategy? Where is the machinery required to prosecute a serious national election?” he asked.
The criticism comes amid disagreements between the NDC and the movement over its independence and role in mobilising support for Obi and Kwankwaso.
Notably, Ughulu and the movement’s state, local government and ward coordinators were not included in the announced appointments.
Meanwhile, Spear News Nigeria gathered that the list released yesterday may not be final, as the party is still in talks with stakeholders over the possibility of a revised list. The source said the consultations are aimed at addressing the grievances arising from the composition of the campaign council.
“The party is still in talks with stakeholders and a revised list may be released before next weekm What was released yesterday is not the final list”, the source said.
Discussion about this post