Borno ADC Leadership Crisis Deepens as Faction Recognizes Magira as 2027 Guber Candidate

The political landscape of Borno State has been thrown into turmoil following the decision of the factional state leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) headed by Dr. Muhammad Khala to declare Hon. Muhammad Attom Magira as the party’s gubernatorial candidate for the 2027 general elections.

The development comes on the heels of a legal victory at the Court of Appeal.

In the judgment for case No: CA/ABJ/CV/608/2026—delivered by Justice Okon Efreti Abang—the appellate court ruled in favor of the appellant, setting aside the actions of the Senator David Mark-led national faction regarding the status of state executives.

The legal battle stems from a prior dispute where the tenure of the old state chairmen and executives was allegedly terminated prematurely.

Aggrieved leaders challenged the decision at the Federal High Court in Abuja, which ruled in their favor.

The David Mark-led faction appealed the verdict, but the Court of Appeal reaffirmed the lower court’s position and slammed a N10 million fine against the appellants.

Riding on the back of this judgment, Dr. Khala’s faction has thrown its weight behind Magira.

According to Magira’s legal team, he purchased his nomination and expression of interest forms and participated in primaries backed by the Dr. Khala-led state structure, emerging as the legitimate candidate based on the appellate court’s interpretation.

However, the faction loyal to Senator David Mark has vehemently rejected Magira’s candidacy.

Speaking to journalists, the acting chairman of the ADC in Borno State, Hon. Bukar Kolo, dismissed Magira’s emergence as “laughable, null, and void.”

Kolo argued that the Court of Appeal judgment did not automatically translate to candidate selection, noting that the matter is already before the Supreme Court.

According to Kolo, the legitimate primaries that produced Hon. Babagana Buhari as the gubernatorial candidate were duly conducted by the national leadership under Senator Mark in compliance with the Electoral Act.

He emphasized that state executives lack the constitutional power to conduct primaries, a mandate strictly reserved for national leadership in conjunction with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“I wonder how Muhammad Attom Magira, who participated in the last primaries and came third, would be declared a candidate after the fact,” Kolo stated, challenging Magira and his legal team to produce court or INEC documentation recognizing him as the candidate.

Countering Kolo’s claims, Attom Magira expressed profound satisfaction with the appellate court’s decision and thanked Dr. Khala’s faction for re-endorsing him.

Speaking in Maiduguri on Tuesday, Magira challenged Kolo to provide evidence of his legitimacy as the acting state chairman. Expressing his readiness to lead the party into the 2027 polls, Magira urged the people of Borno State to rally behind his mandate to usher in positive change.

The acclaimed candidate rolled out an ambitious manifesto, promising to prioritize security, healthcare, education, agriculture, poverty alleviation, job creation, women and youth empowerment, and infrastructure across the 27 local government areas of the state.

“If given the mandate, I will operate an open-door policy, introduce tax waivers for Keke Napep riders, and implement a minimum wage of N100,000 for civil servants across the state,” Magira pledged.

As the legal battles march toward the Supreme Court, the battle for the soul of the Borno ADC and the 2027 gubernatorial ticket promises to remain a fiercely contested political soap opera.