Kashim Shettima (GCON)

Senator Kashim Shettima Mustapha, GCON, is the current Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Born September 2, 1966 in Maiduguri, Borno State, VP Shettima is a Nigerian politician and Agricultural Economist.

He attended Lamisula Primary School in Maiduguri, where he studied from 1972 to 1978 and proceeded to Government Community Secondary School, Biu and Government Science Secondary School, Potiskum, for his West African School Certificate Examinations (WASCE).

Thereafter, he bagged a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Maiduguri. In 1989, he commenced his mandatory National Youth Service at the Nigerian Agricultural Cooperative Bank in Calabar, Cross River State. He followed up in 1990 with a Master’s degree in Agricultural Economics at the University of Ibadan.

VP Shettima started work as a banker at the Commercial Bank for Africa in Lagos State, African International Bank (AIB) Limited, Kaduna and Zenith Bank as Branch Head of the bank’s Maiduguri Office in 2001. He rose to become General Manager at Zenith Bank in five years.

Senator Shettima left banking in 2007 to assume the position of Commissioner of Finance and Economic Development in the Borno State Government. He was also Commissioner in the Ministries of Local Governments and Chieftaincy Affairs, Education, Agriculture, and then Health.

Senator Shettima was elected two-time governor of Borno State from 2011 to 2019 and served concurrently as Chairman of the Northern Governor’s Forum in his second term.

In 2019, Senator Shettima was elected to represent Borno Central under the All Progressives Congress (APC), from where he was nominated and became the Vice President of Nigeria in 2023.