For the second year in a row, Dr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank Plc, has won the International Banker 2024 Banking Awards’ Best Banking CEO of the Year in Africa category.

The prize and Onyeagwu’s five-year term’s end fall on Friday, as noted in the International Banker Magazine, United Kingdom, Spring 2024 issue.

Onyeagwu expressed his happiness at the prize in a statement released by the bank on Monday. 

He said, “It is indeed an honour to be recognised as the ‘Best Banking CEO of the Year in Africa’ for a second consecutive year. This award is a testament to our team’s collective efforts and our commitment to innovation, growth, and delivering value to our customers and stakeholders. 

“It also reflects our dedication to sustainability and high ethical standards, which are integral to our overall strategy. I am immensely proud of our accomplishments and look forward to future opportunities for the bank as I hand over the baton to my successor and begin the mandatory regulatory cooling-off period.”

Dr. Onyeagwu dedicated the award to Dr. Jim Ovia, the bank’s founder and chairman, for his mentorship, which was essential to his success as group managing director and chief executive officer; to the staff and management of the bank for their steadfast dedication over the previous five years; and to the bank’s patrons for their steadfast support.

During his term, Onyeagwu oversaw the bank’s achievement of important benchmarks in sustainability, corporate governance, financial inclusion, and performance.

On June 1, 2019, he was named group managing director and chief executive officer as part of Zenith Bank’s succession planning process. Dr. Adaora Umeoji, the first female GMD, would take over as the bank’s chief after him.

In honor of Zenith Bank’s exceptional risk management procedures and contributions to the larger financial community, the Chartered Risk Management Institute of Nigeria awarded its fellowship Onyeagwu last Thursday. 

Additional, Zenith bank has won various national and international accolades as a result of these accomplishments, including Best Bank for Digital Solutions in Nigeria by the Euromoney Awards 2023 and Best Bank in Nigeria four times in five years, from 2020 to 2022 and in 2024, by the Global Finance World’s Best Banks Awards.