Zenith Bank Plc’s Founder and Chairman, Dr Jim Ovia, accompanied by the bank’s Group Managing Director/CEO, Dame Dr. Adaora Umeoji, yesterday restated the bank’s commitment to transparency, accountability, and bolstering investor confidence.
Speaking during the closing gong ceremony at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), Umeoji expressed her delight in participating in the ceremony, acknowledging the NGX’s visionary leadership and innovative initiatives, saying, “We are delighted to be here today to perform the closing gong ceremony – a symbol of shared progress and enduring partnership.”
“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 per cent 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 capitalisation stood at N55 trillion, today it is hovering around N89 trillion and N93 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 N200trillion.”
The Doyen of the NGX, Rasheed Yusuf while giving his remarks, lauded the Founder and Chairman, Zenith Bank Plc, Jim Ovia, for his vision and leadership. He ended by referring to him as the “Doyen of the Commercial banking sector”.
