The Nigeria Democratic Congress and support groups backing its 2027 presidential ticket have disagreed over the control and registration of campaign structures ahead of the general elections.
The fresh disagreement followed the NDC’s decision to begin registering support groups, a move that has been rejected by the Obi-Kwankwaso Movement, which insists that it is an independent political organisation with its own structure.
The NDC National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, said registration of support groups was free and could only be handled by the party’s Directorate of Support Groups at its national headquarters in Abuja.
He warned that state chapters, officers and other party officials were not authorised to register support groups or collect fees for the exercise.
However, Director-General of the Obi-Kwankwaso Movement, John Ughulu, rejected the arrangement, arguing that the movement should retain control of its internal affairs.
Ughulu said the movement would not surrender or dissolve its structure to the NDC, stressing that while the party had the right to organise its own campaign structures, independent political organisations also had the right to manage their affairs within the law.
The disagreement comes after the NDC previously disowned a 59-member Presidential Campaign Council announced by the Obi-Kwankwaso Movement, insisting that no support group was authorised to establish a campaign structure in the party’s name without approval from its National Working Committee.
The Kwankwasiyya Movement has, however, called for understanding between the party and the various support groups.
Its spokesman, Habibu Muhammed, said the NDC was still developing its structures as a new political party and that some of the disagreements were linked to the process of building the new organisation.
He maintained that the Kwankwasiyya and Obidient movements had existed independently before coming together under the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket and should be allowed to maintain their identities.
National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, Yunusa Tanko, also called for an end to disagreements that could distract from the 2027 campaign.
Tanko said the NDC was the platform on which Peter Obi was contesting and urged supporters to focus on the presidential campaign rather than internal disputes.
