The OK Movement has criticised the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) over its presidential campaign council list, arguing that many of those appointed lack the grassroots support needed to win a national election.

The movement, which mobilises support for the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, said the council’s unveiling less than three months before the 2027 general elections raised questions about the party’s preparedness.

In a statement on Monday, the Director-General of the OK Movement, John Ughulu, questioned the delay in establishing the campaign council and the party’s readiness for the polls.

“With less than three months to the general elections, they are only just announcing their Presidential Campaign Council.

“What exactly have they been doing all this time? Where is the structure? Where is the strategy? Where is the machinery required to prosecute a serious national election?” Ughulu said.

The NDC named its National Leader, Seriake Dickson, as chairman of the council, while Obi will serve as co-chairman. The party’s National Chairman, Cleopas Zuwoghe, was appointed vice-chairman, with Kwankwaso as co-vice chairman.

Obi’s ally and ICT strategist, Ibrahim Abdulkarim, was named director-general, while the party’s National Secretary, Ikenna Enekweizu, will serve as council secretary.

Ughulu argued that electoral victory depended on effective grassroots mobilisation, strategic planning and an established structure reaching polling units, rather than political appointments and public announcements.

“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 before the polls to begin to organise for victory,” he said.

He maintained that the OK Movement had prioritised grassroots organisation well ahead of the election, adding that some members of the NDC campaign council might eventually need the movement’s support and network to mobilise voters.

“The OK Movement is not a political decoration, a temporary support group, or an organisation that exists merely to applaud political leaders,” Ughulu said.

He added that the movement was built on principles and intended to demonstrate what effective political organisation should look like.

The criticism follows a disagreement between the NDC leadership and the OK Movement over the support group’s decision to establish a separate campaign council in September.

The NDC had disowned the group’s action, saying the party would announce its own campaign council.

However, Ughulu said the movement had continued to build its grassroots structure in preparation for the 2027 elections.

“We did not wait for the election to approach before recognising the importance of grassroots organisation,” he said.

He added that a presidential ambition without a functional grassroots structure amounted to a political wish, insisting that the movement had completed the groundwork required for its operations.

“The OK Movement is ready. The question is: are they?” he said, referring to the NDC campaign council.