The Nigeria Democratic Congress has given its 2027 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his running mate, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the authority to nominate several key officials of the party’s Presidential Campaign Council.

The party said the arrangement followed consultations between Obi, Kwankwaso, National Leader Henry Seriake Dickson and other party leaders as preparations intensify for the 2027 general elections.

According to the NDC’s National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, the two candidates will nominate the Director-General of the campaign, Deputy Director-General (North), campaign spokesman, deputy spokesman, Head of New Media, Finance Director, Deputy Finance Director and other officials.

The nominations, however, will be made in consultation with the party leadership.

The party said its proposed organogram for the campaign council was prepared in August and submitted to Obi and Kwankwaso for their consideration. It added that nominations had also been received from stakeholders across the country.

“The party leadership has given a free hand to the presidential candidate and his running mate to make nominations,” the NDC said.

The party said the campaign council would be formally announced and inaugurated after it receives the inputs of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates.

The inauguration was initially planned for the first week of September but was postponed because of Obi’s travel schedule.

The development comes days after the Obi-Kwankwaso Movement, a support group backing the joint ticket, announced a separate 59-member campaign council.

The structure, unveiled on September 17, included zonal and state coordinators as well as directors responsible for mobilisation, women affairs, strategy, security, legal affairs and other areas. John Ughulu was named its Director-General.

However, the NDC subsequently dissociated itself from that structure, saying it had not been authorised by the party.

NDC National Chairman, Senator Cleopas Moses, said only the party leadership could constitute and announce its official Presidential Campaign Council. He warned individuals, candidates and support groups against establishing campaign structures in the name of the party without approval from the National Working Committee.

The latest announcement therefore distinguishes between the official NDC campaign council, which is still being constituted, and campaign structures established by support groups associated with the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket.

The NDC also said preparations were underway for the campaign timetable but that funding and fundraising arrangements were still being concluded.

The party said funds raised for the presidential campaign would be paid into the presidential campaign account and jointly managed by officials nominated by Obi and Kwankwaso alongside the party’s National Treasurer.

It added that the Finance Director and Deputy Finance Director would work with the National Treasurer to ensure transparency and accountability and that the party would render the required financial accounts to the Independent National Electoral Commission in accordance with the Electoral Act.

The party has also appealed to its candidates and their supporters to focus on the 2027 election rather than engaging in internal disputes.

Meanwhile, the NDC has begun preparations for election-day operations, including the mobilisation and compilation of lists of polling agents for National Assembly, governorship and state assembly elections. The lists are expected to be reviewed and ratified by the party leadership before the agents undergo training.

With the official Presidential Campaign Council yet to be inaugurated, the party’s latest decision gives Obi and Kwankwaso a significant role in selecting its principal campaign officials while retaining the requirement for consultation with the NDC leadership.