National Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Senator Seriake Dickson, has warned support groups backing the party's candidates against creating structures that could assume the functions of the NDC's official campaign organisation.
Dickson issued the warning on Tuesday while receiving former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, into the party.
The former Bayelsa State governor was reacting to the controversy surrounding the 59-member Presidential Campaign Council announced by the Obi-Kwankwaso Movement, popularly known as the OK Movement.
The movement is a support group campaigning for the NDC presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The OK Movement announced the council on September 17, prompting the NDC to distance itself from the body.
The party said the council did not originate from its leadership and urged members and supporters to disregard it. The movement subsequently maintained that it did not require the party's approval to carry out its organisational activities.
Dickson, however, said support groups were created to complement political parties through mobilisation and grassroots engagement, not to compete with them.
“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,” he said.
He added that support groups had no mandate to perform the functions of political parties.
“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.
Dickson further cautioned the groups against turning their activities against the parties whose candidates they support.
“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.
According to him, the NDC has a department responsible for coordinating support groups and registering organisations willing to work for its candidates.
He said while the party welcomed support organisations, they must recognise the boundaries between their responsibilities and those of the official party structure.
Dickson also questioned the decision by a support group to constitute a presidential campaign council, describing such a move as outside the normal role of support organisations.
“None of them will dare say they are setting up a presidential campaign council. It’s unheard of. Nonsensical. And those who have a duty to educate and call people to order should do so,” he said.
The dispute comes as the NDC prepares to constitute its official Presidential Campaign Council for the 2027 election.
The party announced on Tuesday that Obi and Kwankwaso had been authorised to nominate key officials of the council in consultation with the party leadership.
The positions include Director-General, Deputy Director-General for the North, campaign spokesman and deputy spokesman, Head of New Media, Finance Director and Deputy Finance Director.
The NDC said the arrangement followed consultations involving Obi, Kwankwaso, Dickson and other party leaders ahead of the inauguration of the official campaign council.
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