Zenith Bank Celebrates 35 Years of Excellence, Honours Loyal Customers and Long-Serving Staff

Zenith Bank has celebrated 35 years of excellence and honoured loyal customers and long-serving staff.

NewsOnline Nigeria reports that Zenith Bank Plc has marked its 35th anniversary with a grand Chairman’s Dinner held on Friday, August 15, 2025, at the Eko Convention Centre, Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos. The glamorous ceremony was a celebration of the bank’s journey of excellence, innovation, and resilience in Nigeria’s financial sector.

In recognition of loyalty and dedication, the bank presented special plaques and commemorative awards to pioneer customers and staff members who have served the institution for 25 years and above.

The event drew together an array of distinguished stakeholders, including regulators, partners, current and former staff, and top customers, who joined to celebrate Zenith Bank’s remarkable achievements.

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Notable dignitaries in attendance included Vice President of Nigeria, Senator Kashim Shettima, GCON; Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa; Taraba State Governor, Dr. Agbu Kefas; Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum; Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori (represented by Deputy Governor Sir Monday Onyeme); Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, GCON; and former governors Peter Obi and Udom Emmanuel, an alumnus of Zenith Bank.

In her welcome remarks, Zenith Bank’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive, Dame Dr. Adaora Umeoji, OON, applauded the Founder and Chairman, Jim Ovia, CFR, describing him as “the Godfather of modern banking and the Nostradamus of our time, whose vision, foresight, and integrity transformed a modest dream into today’s globally recognised financial powerhouse.”

Vice President Kashim Shettima, an alumnus of the bank, also paid glowing tribute to Jim Ovia, praising him for pioneering innovation and human capital development in Nigeria’s banking sector. “Jim Ovia introduced innovation not as fashion but as a philosophy, placing Zenith Bank on a path where excellence is not ambition but standard. His greatest investment has always been in people,” Shettima said.

In his remarks, Zenith Bank Founder and Chairman, Jim Ovia, CFR, expressed gratitude to customers, shareholders, regulators, partners, staff, and family for their unwavering support over the past three and a half decades.

Founded in May 1990, Zenith Bank has evolved from its humble beginnings into one of Africa’s most formidable financial institutions. Today, it operates across Nigeria’s 36 states and the FCT, with subsidiaries in the UK, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Gambia, France, UAE, and a representative office in China.