Kashim Shettima is the Vice-President of Nigeria. A former lecturer and banker, he governed Borno State through the worst years of the Boko Haram insurgency, then served a term in the Senate before President Bola Tinubu chose him as running mate in 2022. The APC confirmed him as Tinubu’s running mate again for the 2027 election.12

Early life and education

Shettima was born in Maiduguri on 2 September 1966. He studied agricultural economics at the University of Maiduguri (1989) and took a master’s degree in the same subject at the University of Ibadan (1991). He taught briefly at the University of Maiduguri.1

Banking career

From 1993 he worked as an agricultural economist at the Commercial Bank of Africa in Lagos, then at African International Bank in Kaduna, and from 2001 at Zenith Bank, where he rose to manage its business in the North-East. He left banking in 2007 to join the Borno State cabinet under Governor Ali Modu Sheriff, serving in turn as commissioner for finance, local government, education, agriculture and health.1

Governor of Borno State (2011–2019)

Shettima became the ANPP’s candidate for governor in 2011 after the party’s first choice, Modu Fannami Gubio, was shot dead. He won with 531,147 votes to 450,140 for the PDP candidate, and was re-elected on the APC platform in 2015 by a larger margin.1

His two terms coincided with the escalation of the Boko Haram insurgency, including the abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in April 2014. His government estimated the damage to public infrastructure in the state at $5.9 billion and more than 900 schools destroyed. He created a ministry for reconstruction and resettlement, began rebuilding towns such as Bama and Gwoza, and built more than 40 “mega schools” for children orphaned by the conflict.1

He clashed with the Jonathan administration in February 2014 when he said that Boko Haram was better armed and more motivated than the military. Supporters saw a blunt statement of fact; the federal government saw it as damaging to troop morale.1

Senate (2019–2023)

Shettima was elected senator for Borno Central in 2019. In the Senate he argued that military force alone could not defeat the insurgency without economic development in the North-East.1

Vice-presidential candidate and Vice-President

Tinubu named Shettima as running mate in July 2022, creating a ticket with two Muslims. The Christian Association of Nigeria and many Christian leaders criticised the choice in a country where parties had usually balanced the ticket by religion. At his unveiling in Abuja, men dressed as Christian clergy appeared on stage; the Catholic Church and other groups said they did not represent them, and the APC was accused of stage-managing the event.34

Shettima was sworn in as Vice-President on 29 May 2023. He chairs the National Economic Council and has represented Nigeria abroad, including at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2024.1

2027

After months of speculation that Tinubu might change his running mate, the APC confirmed Shettima in July 2026.2

Personal life

Shettima married Nana Shettima in 1998, and they have three children. He is a Muslim.1

References

  1. Kashim Shettima. Wikipedia, accessed October 2026. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩

  2. 2027: APC Confirms Shettima as Tinubu’s Running Mate. ThisDay, 11 July 2026. ↩ ↩

  3. We Didn’t Represent CAN at Shettima’s Unveiling, Say Clerics. ThisDay, 26 July 2022. ↩

  4. An Unveiling Tainted by Controversy. ThisDay, 24 July 2022. ↩