It is Wrong! Peter Obi finally speaks on OK Movement campaign council

Presidential candidate Peter Obi has formally disowned the 59-member campaign council unveiled by the Obi-Kwankwaso (OK) Movement, backing his party’s leadership and warning support groups against usurping official political party functions.

Speaking during a live appearance on Arise Television’s Prime Time, Obi clarified that the creation of a stand-alone Presidential Campaign Council by the support coalition lacked both his authorization and knowledge.

The intervention follows a public rift between the leadership of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and the OK Movement after the group unveiled a national campaign council complete with state coordinators and executive directors.

Wading into the dispute, Obi aligned himself with NDC National Leader and former Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, who had earlier condemned the support group’s move as “unheard of” and a violation of party hierarchy.

Obi emphasized that while he values the enthusiasm of volunteer organizations, formal structures like campaign councils remain the exclusive domain of the political party.

“First, the NDC is the political party we all belong to. And I agree entirely with the position of the leader,” Obi stated during the broadcast. “The OK Movement, the Obidient group, Kwankwasiyya, and other supporting groups are support groups. They must play their role as supporting groups supporting the party. They should not play the role of the party.”

Addressing the specific establishment of the 59-member body, Obi firmly rejected its validity.

“We’ve found a situation where one of the supporting groups is using the nomenclature, that is forming a Presidential Campaign Council—it shouldn’t be. No,” Obi added.

“The campaign council of the OK Movement was not created with my knowledge or approval. Not at all. I state it here: it is wrong. Your support group is supporting Obi and Kwankwaso, so whatever you do must have express approval from both of us. At times, in doing these things, some people who are supposed to manage it act contrary to directives.”

The friction erupted after the OK Movement unveiled its council structure, naming directorates for mobilization, strategy, legal affairs, and logistics.

The move prompted immediate pushback from the NDC National Working Committee, led by National Chairman Cleopas Moses and National Leader Seriake Dickson. Dickson argued that support groups have no constitutional standing to institute parallel structures that mimic or challenge the party’s statutory organs.

“Support groups are what they are—support groups,” Dickson asserted in a separate statement. “They don’t play the role of a political party. They don’t sponsor candidates. They provide grassroots support and mobilization. None of them will dare say they are setting up a presidential campaign council. It is unheard of.”

The rift highlights the delicate balancing act facing opposition platforms as they integrate loosely affiliated, high-profile grassroots coalitions into formal party command structures.

By explicitly repudiating the council, Obi aimed to reaffirm party discipline within the NDC, signaling that all campaign mobilization for his presidential bid must operate under a unified, party-sanctioned leadership.