The OK Movement has questioned the Nigeria Democratic Congress’s (NDC) readiness for the 2027 general election, saying the party is unveiling its Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) too late to build an effective campaign structure.
The movement, which has clashed with the party over its decision to establish a separate campaign structure, said appointing a council would not, on its own, deliver the grassroots mobilisation and coordination needed for a national election.
In a statement on Monday titled “The Difference Between Political Ambition and Political Capacity,” the movement’s National Director-General, John Ughulu, claimed that many people named to the NDC council would eventually seek the movement’s help to mobilise voters.
“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.
Ughulu questioned the party’s preparations for the election. “Where is the structure? Where is the strategy? Where is the machinery required to prosecute a serious national election?” he asked.
He said elections were not won simply by appointing prominent figures to campaign councils, but through grassroots mobilisation, coordination, planning and networks reaching polling units.
“You cannot spend years talking about winning an election and challenging the organisational campaign structure of the most formidable movement in Nigeria and wait until a few months to the polls before you begin to organise for victory,” he said.
The dispute centres on the OK Movement’s decision to form a campaign council separate from the party’s, leaving the two organisations at odds over how the campaign should be run.
Ughulu said the movement had invested in grassroots organisation well ahead of the election.
“We did not wait for the election to approach before recognising the importance of grassroots organisation. We understood from the beginning that a presidential ambition without a functional grassroots structure is nothing more than a political wish,” he said.
He added that the NDC’s campaign council might eventually need the movement’s coordinators, networks and mobilisation capacity.
“But the question is: Will they respect the structure they are now coming to depend on?” he asked.
Ughulu also rejected what he described as attempts to treat the movement as a temporary support group, saying it had its own principles and organisational purpose.
“Leadership is not about who makes the loudest noise. Leadership is about who prepares, who organises, who builds, and who delivers when it matters most,” he said.
He said the movement had completed the groundwork for its operations and challenged the NDC to assess whether its campaign machinery was ready.
“The OK Movement is ready. The question is: are they?” he said.
