The OK Movement, a political platform supporting the joint ticket of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has rejected any plan to merge or subsume the movement into the party.
The movement said its cooperation and political alignment with the NDC did not amount to organisational subordination, insisting that it remained an independent political organisation with its own structures and internal administration.
In a statement on Wednesday, National Director-General of the OK Movement, Hon. John Ozyl Ughulu, said the movement was not a support group created as an appendage of any political party or another organisation.
He said its national, state, local government and ward structures remained the responsibility of the movement and would not be transferred to the management of the NDC or any other organisation.
Ughulu said the OK Movement comprised members drawn from different political parties who shared a common commitment to the political aspirations of Obi and Kwankwaso.
He said the movement had the organisational right to establish its own campaign and mobilisation structures in support of the candidates, adding that it was not aware of any provision of the NDC constitution that expressly prohibited such arrangements.
According to him, the movement had developed structures across the country through the commitment and participation of its members and coordinators.
“Our position is therefore clear: The OK Movement remains an independent organisation. Its existence and internal administration are not subject to the internal management of the NDC Party,” he said.
Ughulu said the movement recognised the constitutional authority of the NDC over its internal affairs but expected the party and other organisations to recognise the OK Movement’s independent identity and structures.
He said the movement did not claim supremacy over the NDC or seek to usurp the party’s constitutional powers.
Rather, he said, it sought the right to choose and support its preferred candidates, campaign for them, mobilise voters, establish its own operational structures and coordinate its members and volunteers.
“Our cooperation with the NDC Party should therefore be understood as political collaboration, not organisational subordination,” he said.
Ughulu also said the movement would oppose, through what he described as lawful and democratic means, any attempt to appropriate its structures or redefine its identity without the approval of its legitimate organs.
He said the OK Movement would continue to mobilise support for its preferred candidates and participate in the democratic process.
“We will not be intimidated, we will not surrender our identity and we will not abandon the structures we have built,” he said.
