A new political pressure group, the Obi–Kwankwaso Movement, has emerged as supporters of Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso intensify efforts to shape the outcome of the African Democratic Congress presidential primary.

Unveiled in Abuja, the OK Movement says it has already built structures across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, with state and zonal coordinators appointed to drive grassroots mobilisation. The group presents itself as a coalition of forces drawn from the Obidient Movement, Kwankwasiyya, the New Nigeria People’s Party and the African Democratic Congress.

National Publicity Secretary of the movement, Justin Ijeh, described the platform as a nationwide engine for “systemic reform and national rebirth,” arguing that Nigerians are grappling with severe economic hardship, rising living costs and persistent insecurity. He said the movement aims to channel public frustration into organised political action.

Ijeh stressed that the OK Movement rejects politics based on ethnicity, region or religion, positioning itself instead as a home for “all well-meaning Nigerians.” According to him, the group’s structures are in place and state chapters will be formally inaugurated in the coming weeks, with an open invitation to citizens who believe the country’s “current reality need not be our final destiny.”

The initiative mirrors the decentralised, youth-driven energy of the Obidient Movement that propelled Obi’s 2023 presidential bid, while tapping into Kwankwaso’s entrenched grassroots network in the North. Its emergence adds a new layer to the complex realignments within the opposition as the ADC prepares to choose its presidential flag bearer.

National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, Yunusa Tanko, confirmed that the OK platform is working in tandem with existing Obi support structures toward a joint presidential project under the ADC. He dismissed suggestions of division, noting that other allied groups share the same objective.

The movement’s launch comes amid rising tension in the ADC over the ambition of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, whose insistence that he will not step down for any aspirant has unsettled rival camps. Within this contest, Kwankwasiyya loyalists maintain that only Obi and Kwankwaso currently command authentic nationwide grassroots followership.

As the ADC primary approaches, the OK Movement’s organisers are betting that a united Obi–Kwankwaso front, backed by coordinated structures and a shared reform message, could significantly reshape the balance of power within the opposition coalition.