Obi, Kwankwaso Unveil 59-member Presidential Campaign Council

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Peter Obi, and his running mate, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, have stepped up their campaign for the presidency come 2027.

This is as the Obi-Kwankwaso Movement yesterday unveiled a 59-member Presidential Campaign Council ahead of the general elections.

The Obi-Kwankwaso Movement, also known as the OK Movement, is a political pressure group mobilising grassroots support for a joint presidential ticket between Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NDC.

The council, announced in a statement, has the director-general of the movement, John Ughulu, as director-general of the campaign, while the national secretary, Saadatu Sani, will also serve as secretary of the team.

The council comprises zonal and state coordinators as well as directors for mobilisation, women affairs, strategy, security, legal affairs and other key directorates, according to the statement issued on Thursday.

The council has coordinators for the six geopolitical zones and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with state coordinators appointed for all 36 states.

It also includes directors for grassroots mobilisation, contact and engagement, special duties, procurement, information technology, legal affairs, strategy and planning, security and intelligence, and administration.

Checks showed that the director-general of the council, Ughulu, also known as “The Morale Booster,” is a distinguished best-selling author, public speaker, and award-winning leadership strategist based in Atlanta. He is the Director-General of the Obi-Kwankwaso Movement and hails from Edo State, South-South Nigeria.

The council’s secretary, Saadatu Sani, is from Kaduna State, North-West Nigeria. She previously served as a member representing Lere Federal Constituency of Kaduna State in the House of Representatives between 2003 and 2011.

Among those appointed are Suleiman Abubakar as North-Central Coordinator, Hashimu Dungurawa (North-West), Amadu Gwambe (North-East), Dr. Adebayo Adefolaseye (South-West), Christopher Ighodaro (South-South), and El-Shaddai Ikeh (South-East).

Others are Rev. Mike Agbon as Director, Inter-Ethnic Group in Northern Nigeria, Sabo Gashua (Grassroots Mobilisation), Glory Adayi (Women Affairs), Kabir Yahaya (Contact and Engagement), Abdulmumini Tijjani (Mobilisation), Yusuf Mani (Special Duties), Peace Daful (Procurement), Prof. Charles Nwekeaku (South-East Town Hall Meeting), and Sunmisola Adebayo (Information Technology).

Also appointed are Kingdom Okere as Director, Legal Affairs, Abiodun Dabiri (Strategy and Planning), Richard Enemona, CSP (Rtd.), (Security and Intelligence), and Aisha Abdulrahaman as Director of Administration.

Among the state coordinators are: Maiyaki Samson, Kogi; Tokji J. Mandim, Plateau; Yusuf Abdullahi, Nasarawa; Aliyu Tershaku, Benue; Awal Goma, Niger; Ibrahim Jabir, FCT; and Kazeem Olawuyi, Kwara.

Others are: Kaduna – Ibrahim Kaya, Sokoto – Muhammed Tukur, Kano – Rabiu Na Begu, Zamfara – Hon. Usman Sani, Jigawa – Sabiu Hassan, Kebbi – Armayau Shehu, Katsina – Yusif Sule, Adamawa – Abubakar Bala, Gombe – Ismail Mairungu, Taraba – Hajiya Salaha Abubakar, Bauchi – Ahmed Aminu, Yobe – Ibrahim Garba Muhammad, and Borno – Aliyu AK Balarabe.

Also appointed as state coordinators are: Osun – Otunba Segun Odekunle, Oyo – Bababowale Olagbenro, Ekiti – Animasaun Diamond, Ogun – Shakirat Arowolo, Lagos – Ibironke Ogboro, Ondo – Ibrahim Shuibu, Cross River – Egwu Arong, Akwa Ibom – Elijah Noah, Edo – Eromosele Jatto, Delta – Favour Emerure, Bayelsa – Furoebi Akene, Rivers – Dr. Princess Jane Petters, Imo – Nwanebu Christian Onyinyechi, Anambra – Chukwudi Onyejekwe, Ebonyi – Roland Edeh, Enugu – Victor Onyia, and Abia – Prof. Zulu Ofoelue.

The unveiling comes as the movement intensifies mobilisation for the joint presidential ticket of Obi and Kwankwaso.

In a congratulatory message to the appointees, Sani described their selection as a call to duty and charged them to take the message of the principals to every community.

“Your selection is not merely an appointment; it is a call to duty, sacrifice, leadership and service to Nigeria. At this critical moment in our nation’s history, the responsibility before the Presidential Campaign Council is enormous,” she said.

“You have been entrusted with the task of taking the vision, message and aspirations of our principals directly to the Nigerian people – from the cities to the grassroots, from the states to the local governments, and from the wards to every community across the federation.

“Your appointment is an honour, but more importantly, it is a responsibility. The journey has begun. The assignment is clear. The mission is Nigeria.”

She stressed that the movement was not built around individuals seeking personal recognition but around a national vision.

“The OK Movement is not built around individuals seeking personal recognition. It is a movement driven by a larger national vision: to mobilise Nigerians around the possibility of a better, more prosperous, united and functional Nigeria.

“We therefore expect every member of the Presidential Campaign Council to approach this assignment with discipline, loyalty, humility, courage and an unwavering commitment to the collective vision of the movement.

“The road ahead will require hard work. It will require strategic thinking, grassroots mobilisation, effective communication and, above all, the ability to work together as one formidable political family,” she stated.

The movement had last month reaffirmed its decision to retain its independent structure rather than merge with another political organisation ahead of the 2027 elections, while backing Ughulu as its founder and Director-General.

The unveiling comes days after the movement condemned the reported disruption of Obi’s convoy during his visit to Benue State and called for an impartial investigation into the incident.