The leadership of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has distanced itself from the 59-member presidential campaign council constituted by OK Movement, a support group for Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the party, and his running mate, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
In a statement on Saturday, Cleopas Moses, NDC national chairman, said the list did not emanate from the party and should be disregarded.
On Thursday, the OK Movement unveiled a 59-member committee, comprising zonal and state coordinators, as well as directors overseeing mobilisation, women’s affairs, strategy, security, legal affairs, other areas.
The movement said John Ughulu, its director-general, and Saadatu Sani, the national secretary, would serve as the campaign council’s director-general and secretary, respectively.
In a statement, Sani said the movement was not built around individuals seeking personal recognition but driven by the need to “mobilise Nigerians around the possibility of a better, more prosperous, united and functional Nigeria”.
However, the party’s national chairman said the NDC was not involved in constituting the campaign council.
“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,” he said.
Moses noted that the party’s candidates were subject to the authority and discipline of the NDC, adding that only the party’s leadership could constitute and announce a presidential campaign council.
“All candidates of the party must appreciate that they are not running as independent candidates,” he said.
“They are products of the party and remain subject to the authority and discipline of the party.
“Therefore, only the party’s leadership can constitute and announce a Presidential Campaign Council.”
He warned members, candidates and support groups against undermining the party or operating structures in its name without approval.
“Henceforth, no individual or group is authorised to announce, constitute, or publish any campaign council, structure, or organ in the name of the party without prior approval from the National Working Committee (NWC),” Moses said.
He said the party appreciated the contributions of support groups but warned against operating as parallel structures.
“While the party will continue to work collaboratively with all support groups, such groups should not see themselves as alternative party structures or parallel organs of the party,” he said.
Moses also called on support groups and members to channel their grievances through the party’s internal mechanisms rather than resorting to public attacks.
The NDC national chairman said Ughulu would be referred to the appropriate disciplinary organ of the party over what he described as “his excesses during the primary election in Lagos state” and “repeated disregard for party authority”.