NDC Crisis Looms as OK Movement Rejects Party Control, Asks for Apology from Chair

A growing crisis within the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) is brewing over the autonomy of the Obi-Kwankwaso (OK) Movement, which has rejected the party's control over its campaign structures for the 2027 general election. The movement's decision to reject the 59-member Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) unveiled by the OK Movement has escalated tensions between the two entities.

Initially, the NDC had dismissed the PCC and stated that it alone could create and announce its campaign structures. However, the OK Movement, insisting on its independence, demanded apologies from the NDC National Chairman, Senator Cleopas Moses, for perceived defamatory statements and an apology to the movement's National Director-General, Hon. John Ozyl Ughulu.

The broader dispute now revolves around the relationship between the NDC and the independent OK Movement, which supports the party's presidential candidates. In a recent statement, the OK Movement emphasized the supremacy of political parties and their constitutional rights, while asserting its own unique leadership, organizational structure, ideology, and internal processes.

Meanwhile, National Assembly candidate Mr. Ceejay Henry Ezebuiro has accused NDC South-East zone leaders of threatening his life if he refuses to abandon the party ticket or pays a hefty sum of N150 million. Ezebuiro, a candidate for Ideato North and South Federal Constituency, claims the leaders, including the party's National Vice-Chairman and National Secretary, made death threats if he did not comply with their demands.

Ezebuiro, who has already been listed by INEC as the NDC candidate, dismissed court action filed by his rival, Mr. Uchenna Omelonye, arguing it was technically defective due to being filed 67 days after the primary. Ezebuiro accused his opponents of bribery, coercion, and an absence of democracy within the NDC.