From Adesuwa Tsan, Abuja
The OK Movement has questioned the preparedness of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2027 general elections, arguing that the planned release of the party’s Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) list is coming too late, given the time required to build an effective campaign structure.
The OK Movement, which has been at loggerheads with the party over its decision to establish a separate campaign structure, said the unveiling of the council would not automatically translate into the grassroots mobilisation and coordination required for a national election.
In a statement on Monday morning titled “the difference between political ambition and political capacity,” the National Director-General of the OK Movement, John Ughulu, claimed that many of those expected to feature on the NDC PCC would eventually seek the support of the movement 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 what the party had been doing in preparation for the election, asking, “Where is the structure? Where is the strategy? Where is the machinery required to prosecute a serious national election?”
He argued that elections were not won merely through the appointment of prominent individuals into campaign councils, but through grassroots mobilisation, effective coordination, strategic planning and established 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 between the NDC and the OK Movement centres on the latter’s decision to constitute a campaign council separate from that of the party, a move that has put the two structures at odds over campaign organisation.
However, Ughulu maintained that the movement had invested in grassroots organisation ahead of the election, insisting that its approach was based on the need to establish a functional structure long before the campaign period intensified.
“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 further argued that the party’s campaign council could eventually require the support of the movement’s coordinators, networks and mobilisation capacity to strengthen its electioneering efforts.
“But the question is: Will they respect the structure they are now coming to depend on?” he asked.
The OK Movement director-general also rejected what he described as attempts to treat the organisation as a temporary support group, saying it was built around defined principles and an independent 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,” Ughulu said.
He added that the movement had demonstrated its commitment and completed the groundwork necessary for its operations, challenging those still organising their campaign machinery to examine the difference between political ambition and the capacity to execute it.
“The OK Movement is ready. The question is: are they?” he said.
The post NDC campaign council: OK Movement flags late preparations, grassroots structure appeared first on The Sun Nigeria.