The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has moved to clarify the place of political support groups within its 2027 election structure, insisting that such organisations should concentrate on grassroots mobilisation rather than create parallel campaign machinery.
National Leader of the party, Senator Seriake Dickson, stated this on Wednesday while receiving former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, into the NDC, against the backdrop of a dispute over a 59-member Presidential Campaign Council announced by the Obi-Kwankwaso Movement, popularly known as the OK Movement.
Dickson said the value of support groups lay in expanding the party’s reach at the grassroots and mobilising voters for its candidates, rather than competing with the party for organisational authority.
“You have several support groups. Support groups don’t compete with the political party that is sponsoring candidates. Support groups don’t compete for supremacy, for space.
“Support groups are what they are, support groups. They don’t play the role of a political party. They don’t sponsor candidates. They provide grassroots support, mobilisation support,” he said.
His position followed the decision by the OK Movement to unveil a 59-member campaign council on September 17. The NDC subsequently disowned the structure, saying it did not originate from the party and should be disregarded. The movement, however, maintained that it was an independent support organisation with its own internal processes.
Dickson said the NDC had a department responsible for registering and coordinating support groups, stressing that the party remained open to organisations willing to mobilise support for its candidates.
He also cautioned that support groups should not become adversaries of the political platform under which their preferred candidates are contesting.
“They don’t convert themselves to become critics of the political party sponsoring. They don’t attack the political party sponsoring. They don’t do that,” he said.
The disagreement comes as the NDC itself works towards inaugurating its official Presidential Campaign Council, with the party giving its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, authority to nominate key officers in consultation with the party leadership.
The positions include Director-General, Deputy Director-General for the North, campaign spokesman and deputy, Head of New Media, Finance Director and Deputy Finance Director. The party said the arrangement followed consultations involving Obi, Kwankwaso, Dickson and other leaders and was intended to promote inclusiveness and cohesion in the campaign structure.
The NDC has also said its campaign organogram was prepared in August and submitted to Obi and Kwankwaso for their input, while nominations were received from party stakeholders across the country. The party is expected to announce and inaugurate the council after the outstanding inputs from the candidates are received.
Dickson described the establishment of a presidential campaign council by a support group as outside the conventional role of such organisations, urging those responsible for political education to ensure that support groups understand their place within the broader campaign framework.
The development effectively places grassroots mobilisation and formal campaign administration on separate tracks, with the NDC retaining responsibility for the official campaign structure while support organisations are expected to broaden the party’s reach among voters.
