Zenith Bank’s innovation and integrity at its 35th anniversary
Shettima has applauded Zenith Bank’s innovation and integrity at its 35th anniversary, hailing founder Jim Ovia’s role in banking technology.
Vice President Kashim Shettima over the weekend, praised one of Nigeria’s largest financial institutions, Zenith Bank, for instilling a culture of innovation and inbred integrity into Nigeria’s financial standards.
Shettima said Ovia’s genius has never been in doubt, having had the privilege of working under his watch during the period he worked as a banker.
17th Aug, 2025 by Deji Elumoye from Arise
Ovia had already woven it into the Nigerian banking system.
Shettima hailed the Chairman and Founder of the bank, Chief Jim Ovia, for his foresight, noting that long before technology became the bloodstream of global finance, Ovia had already woven it into the Nigerian banking system.
According to him, beyond performing excellently in guarding Nigeria’s wealth, Zenith has also nurtured the nation’s dreams, sealing the bank’s status as Nigeria’s largest bank by Tier-One capital.
Speaking in Lagos during the 35th Anniversary of Zenith Bank, Shettima noted that in July 1990, when the bank was born in Nigeria’s banking sector, it was quite glaring that “a motion was set in place for a revolution in the nation’s corporate culture.”
The great strides the bank made, he noted, were the cumulative effects of what earned it the prize as the nation’s number one bank, a position it has retained for 16 consecutive years, “making it a benchmark in the annals of African enterprise.”
Morbi ut viverra massa mattis vitae blandit ut integer non vestibulum eros, diam in in et hac mauris maecenas sed sapien fermentum et eu.
Extolling the bank’s innovation and integrity, the vice president said: “And so, as we gather to celebrate Zenith Bank at thirty-five, we are honouring a culture—a culture where innovation is instinct, where integrity is non-negotiable, and where service to humanity is as important as service to shareholders.
“On behalf of the Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I salute Zenith Bank; I honour Mr. Jim Ovia, and I commend Dame Adaora Umeoji. May the next thirty-five years find you still breaking barriers, still setting standards, and still proving that in Nigeria, greatness is not an exception—it is an expectation,” Shettima added.
