Zenith Bank Founder Jim Ovia Reaffirms Commitment to Shareholders’ Value

Jim Ovia, Zenith Bank Plc founder and chairman, reaffirms strong commitment to shareholders’ value at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) closing gong ceremony on Tuesday.

 Ovia, accompanied by the bank’s Group Managing Director/CEO, Dame Dr. Adaora Umeoji, OON carried out the prestigious closing gong ceremony, marking a significant milestone in the bank’s continued partnership with the capital market and the official closing of the trading day.

The ceremony highlights Zenith Bank’s strong relationship with the NGX and its commitment to transparency, accountability, and bolstering investor confidence.

While speaking at the Nigerian Exchange, Dr. Umeoji expressed her delight in participating in the closing gong ceremony, acknowledging the NGX’s visionary leadership and innovative initiatives.

“We are delighted to be here today to perform the closing gong ceremony – a symbol of shared progress and enduring partnership,” Dr. Umeoji said.

“The NGX’s leadership has been very creative and innovative, and their electronic trading platform – X-stream – played a pivotal role in the success of our recapitalisation exercise, which achieved a 160% subscription.

“The bank’s stock price has doubled since the recapitalisation exercise, from N36.50 per share to N68. Zenith Bank has also reported impressive financial results for the Half Year (H1) of 2025, becoming the most profitable bank in Nigeria and paying the highest dividend in the industry for the half year.”

“We are committed to creating value for our stakeholders and will continue to partner with the NGX to boost the Nigerian economy,” Dr. Umeoji added. “Our expansion strategy is focused on following our customers’ businesses and ensuring that we go to countries and economies where we can scale and provide more returns for our shareholders.”

She stressed that the bank plans to make good on its promise of being investors’ delight by paying quantum dividends to its shareholders by year end. According to her “For us in Zenith, we are looking forward to paying more based on the confidence the market reposed on us. We are working assiduously to ensure that we do not disappoint the Market. 

“We are going to continue to be the investors’ delight, and we assure the market that we would continue to pay enhanced dividends come end of the year.”

Also commenting, the Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr. Emomotimi Agama emphasised the role of the NGX in creating value in the Nigerian economic space. He said, “I want to thank you all for making the market what it is.

“Without you, the market wouldn’t have seen the leap that it has achieved in the last one-and-half year. I spoke earlier that at my assumption of office, market capitalization stood at N55 trillion, today it is hovering around 89 trillion and 93 trillion.

“That was not done by a spirit, it was done by you. Your ability, tenacity, courage, vision and transparency have moved the market where it is. Our vision is that by next year, we will have the market at 200trn.”

The Doyen of the NGX, Alhaji Rasheed Yusuf while giving his remarks, lauded Ovia for his vision and leadership. He ended by referring to him as the “Doyen of the Commercial banking sector”.

Zenith Bank remains committed to creating long-term value for its stakeholders while driving economic development in Nigeria. As the bank continues on its growth trajectory, it has its sights set on global expansion.

The bank intends to strategically leverage the capital raised from the market to enhance its scalability and deliver enhanced services to its valued customers. Oando Plunges by Half over Discounted Investors’ Trust