In a show of muscle more than a year before 2027, thousands of Southern Borno youths on Saturday raised N38.5 million to bankroll Senator Muhammadu Ali Ndume’s bid for a fifth term, framing the move as a defence of “fearless representation” in the Senate.
Over 2,000 contributors from all nine LGAs of Southern Borno packed Forshams Hall, Maiduguri, in what organisers called a deliberate political statement: keep Ndume in the chamber because, in their words, Nigeria needs voices that “speak truth to power.”
“This is not just about funding forms; it is about safeguarding representation that prioritises the people and holds the executive accountable,” said youth coordinator Alhaji Babandi Shehu, who led the drive.
Chants and pledges of loyalty rolled through the hall as trade unions, transport groups, and community associations lined up behind the Borno South senator. The message was blunt: Ndume’s record on legislation and insurgency-era reconstruction has earned him early, organized backing.
A breakdown of the N38.5m haul shows depth across the district: Biu, Kwaya-Kusar, Hawul, Bayo, and Shani delivered N8m; Askira-Uba N5m; Damboa N2m.
The Nigeria Union of Road Transport Workers and Baga Road Timber Sellers Association each put down N1m.
Ndume’s Senior Legislative Aide, Junaid Jibril Maiva, used the moment to reel off a legacy list: 70+ bills, the Nigerian Army University Biu, the North East Development Commission, Federal College of Education Gwoza, plus pending Federal Medical Centre Kwaya-Kusar and Federal College of Agriculture Shani.
He added 200 houses built in Gwoza and 80 in Damboa for displaced families — brick-and-mortar arguments in a region rebuilding from Boko Haram.
Since entering the Senate in 2011, Ndume has built a brand on confrontation.
He’s pushed for tougher security funding, clashed with party leaders, and drawn fire for a style critics call combative. Supporters call it courage.
Saturday’s crowd chose the second definition. In a zone that bore the brunt of insurgency, Ndume’s demand for federal intervention on security and resettlement has made him a fixture — and a lightning rod.
Political analysts read the fundraiser as more than cash. It’s early positioning inside the APC, a public flex of Ndume’s grassroots machine, and a warning to rivals that Southern Borno is locking in.
With 2027 still distant, the N38.5m war chest buys more than nomination forms. It buys momentum, headlines, and a narrative: continuity.
For Ndume’s base, the calculation is simple. “Continuity, experience, and assertive representation are non-negotiable,” one participant said as the hall emptied.
The 2027 race hasn’t opened. Southern Borno just fired the first shot.
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