By Ayomide Otitoju
Founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Dr. Jim Ovia, CFR, was on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, honoured as the Doyen of the Nigerian Banking Industry during the Closing Gong Ceremony at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) in Lagos.
Dr. Ovia, accompanied by the bank’s Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dame Dr. Adaora Umeoji, OON, performed the symbolic ringing of the closing gong to officially end the day’s trading session. The event marked another milestone in Zenith Bank’s enduring collaboration with the NGX and reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to transparency, accountability, and investor confidence.
Speaking at the ceremony, Dr. Umeoji commended the NGX’s visionary leadership and innovative role in advancing Nigeria’s capital market, particularly in supporting Zenith Bank’s recent recapitalization exercise.
“We are delighted to perform the closing gong ceremony – a symbol of shared progress and enduring partnership,” she said. “The NGX’s electronic trading platform, X-stream, played a pivotal role in the success of our recapitalization, which achieved a 160% subscription. Since then, our stock price has doubled from ₦36.50 to ₦68 per share. Zenith Bank has also delivered strong financial results for the first half of 2025, emerging as Nigeria’s most profitable bank and paying the highest dividend in the industry.”
Dr. Umeoji further assured shareholders of the bank’s dedication to value creation and sustained dividend growth.
“We are working tirelessly to remain investors’ delight and will continue to pay enhanced dividends at the end of the year,” she added. “Our expansion strategy focuses on following our customers’ businesses into new markets and creating greater value for our shareholders.”
In his remarks, the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr. Emomotimi Agama, lauded the NGX and market stakeholders for their collective role in driving Nigeria’s capital market growth.
“When I assumed office, market capitalization stood at ₦55 trillion. Today, it is between ₦89 trillion and ₦93 trillion. This growth reflects your vision, courage, and transparency. Our goal is to grow the market to ₦200 trillion by next year,” he said.
Also speaking, the Doyen of the NGX, Alhaji Rasheed Yusuf, praised Dr. Ovia’s exceptional leadership and pioneering role in the Nigerian banking industry, describing him as “the Doyen of the Commercial Banking Sector.”
Zenith Bank reaffirmed its commitment to creating long-term value for stakeholders while driving national and global economic growth. The bank plans to leverage capital raised from the market to enhance scalability, strengthen operations, and expand internationally.
Over the years, Zenith Bank’s consistent performance has earned it multiple accolades, including Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital for the 16th consecutive year in The Banker’s Top 1000 World Banks Ranking 2025 and Nigeria’s Best Bank at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2025.
The bank has also been recognised as Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria (2021–2025) by World Finance Banking Awards, Most Sustainable Bank, Nigeria (2023–2024) by International Banker, and Best Corporate Governance Bank, Nigeria (2022–2025) by World Finance.
Further distinctions include Most Responsible Organisation in Africa and Best Company in Transparency and Reporting at the SERAS CSR Awards Africa 2024, Bank of the Year 2024 by ThisDay and New Telegraph Newspapers, and Rights Issue/Public Offer of the Year at the Nairametrics Capital Market Choice Awards 2025.
As Zenith Bank continues to expand its global footprint, it remains steadfast in its mission to deliver innovation, sustainability, and superior value to investors, customers, and the Nigerian economy.
