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”.
‘IT DID NOT EMANATE FROM NDC’
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”.
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