 In the February 2003 PDP primaries for Borno State Governorship candidate, Ibrahim-Imam was said to be competing in part to prevent Lawan becoming governor again.He easily beat four other contestants to represent the PDP in the gubernatorial elections, gaining 177 of the 185 votes cast.In the April elections, Ali Modu Sheriff of the [[All Nigeria Peoples Party]] (ANPP) gained 581,880 votes, Kashim came second with 341,537 votes for the PDP and the incumbent Governor [[Mala Kachalla]], who had moved from the ANPP to compete on the [[Alliance for Democracy (Nigeria)|Alliance for Democracy]] (AD) ticket, gained 336,165 votes.