APC flagbearer, Gov Bola Tinubu taps Kashim Shettima to run with him as VP candidate in the 2023 presidential elections.
Shettima is immediate past APC governor of Borno State and currently represents Borno Central in the Nigerian Senate.
Gov Tinubu travelled to President Buhari’s hometown of Daura, Katsina State, to present his choice before making it public. Buhari chose to spend his last Eid El-Kabir feast as a president in his hometown
Nigerians remember Senator Shettima as a staunch supporter of the Lagos strongman who feels entitled to succeed Mr. Buhari.
In press interviews and mobilization of delegates, the running mate offered a strong endorsement of Mr. Tinubu.
Tinubu told reporters that he had not broken the news of his selection to Mr. Shettima before making it public.
He disclosed his choice of vice presidential candidate at the same Daura residence of the President.
He said APC will win the election because it is a progressive party with a focus on Nigerian problems.
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“We face the Nigerian problems; we don’t run away from it. We have a better programme for the people and about the people and are ready to serve,” he said,
About Kashim Shettima
Shettima served two terms of eight years as Governor of Borno State, from 2011 to 2019.
At 56, he is older than his Labour Party counterpart, Dr. Datti Baba-Ahmed by three years.
However, like the Baba-Ahmeds of Kaduna in the Northwest, Shettima equally comes from a prominent political family – the Sir Kashim Ibrahim of the Northeast.
Both Kashim and Yusuf Datti studied Economics at the University of Maiduguri.
Unlike Baba-Ahmed who majored in Economics, Shettima graduated as an Agricultural Economist. After earning a master’s degree from the University of Ibadan, he returned to Maiduguri to teach for two years before going to work in the private sector.
He made a career in banking, rising to various manager positions before going into politics when Gov Ali Modu Sheriff appointed him to the Borno Cabinet as Commissioner for Finance in 2007.
He moved from Finance to manage other significant portfolios, including Local Government, Education, Agriculture, and Health.
Fortune smiled on him in January 2011 when gunmen shot dead Modu Fannami Gubio who won ANPP governorship primaries. Shettima won APC’s second primary to select Gubio’s replacement.
After serving two terms, he became a Senator in 2019, still under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Tinubu taps Shettima as VP candidate
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