Birthdays are milestones in the journey of life, but for those entrusted with the service of a nation, they are also moments to celebrate the footprints they have left along the way. Today, I celebrate one such journey—that of an accomplished public servant, steadfast patriot and Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Kashim Shettima.
Your Excellency, your journey through public service—from Commissioner to Governor, Senator and now Vice President—has been distinguished by courage in adversity, intellectual depth, loyalty to country and an abiding conviction in the promise of Nigeria.
You governed Borno State at one of the most difficult periods in its history, when terror tested the resilience of its people and challenged the authority of the Nigerian state. Yet you remained at your duty post, providing leadership in the face of danger and demonstrating that adversity must never be permitted to extinguish hope. 
Today, as Vice President, you bring that same resilience, experience and patriotic commitment to the service of our nation. Your partnership with His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, in advancing the Renewed Hope Agenda demonstrates the importance of unity of purpose at the highest levels of government as we confront the challenges of the present and lay the foundations for a more prosperous future.
On this special day, I celebrate not merely the addition of another year to your life, but the years you have invested in the service of our fatherland.
On behalf of my family, my constituents and the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I wish you many more years of good health, wisdom, strength and fulfilment.
May Almighty God continue to guide you, strengthen you and grant you the grace to serve our nation with distinction.
And may the years ahead bring us ever closer to the Nigeria for which generations have hoped and laboured—a nation at peace with itself, confident in its diversity, prosperous in its economy and respected among the nations of the world.
Happy Birthday, Mr Vice President.
May God bless you, and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
