Following the death of group managing director and chief executive of Access Holdings, Herbert Wigwe, the former. Nigerian minister of Finance and current director general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in a post on X, said: “terribly saddened by the news of the terrible loss of Herbert Wigwe , Group CEO Access Bank @HerbertOWigwe , his wife and son as well as Bimbo Ogunbanjo in a helicopter crash.
“My deepest sympathies and condolences to the Wigwe family, the Ogunbanjo family, Access Bank Group employees and Management @myaccessbank and my younger Brother Herbert’s partner Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede. May the souls of the departed rest in perfect peace.”
Meanwhile, the chairman of Access Holdings Plc, Mr. Abubakar Jimoh has described the demise of its GMD, Herbert Wigwe as a huge loss tothe financial conglomerate as well as the banking industry, promising to build on his legacies to further grow the group and it’s subsidiaries.
In a statement issued by the bank yesterday Jimoh said: “the Access Family has suffered a major loss with the passing of Dr. Wigwe who was a great friend and fine gentleman. He had a prodigious intellect, admirable personal qualities, and vast business experience which he brought to bear on the Access Family and for which we owe him a debt of gratitude.
“We remain confident that the Access Group will build further on Dr. Wigwe’s legacy of growth and operational excellence.”
The Corporation noted that Wigwe was instrumental in the growth of Access Bank, which he co-founded with his friend and business partner Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede.
“He took over as Access Bank Group CEO in 2014, focusing on the Bank’s expansion in Nigeria and Africa before taking the helm at Access Holdings in 2022. Under his leadership, Access Bank drove its African strategy to become Sub Saharan Africa’s largest retail bank by customer base.
Dr. Wigwe was a member of the Access Bank UK board as well as the board of the Nigerian Business Coalition Against AIDS (NiBUCAA).
“He has long been an advocate for the eradication of malaria in Africa, working with the Corporate Alliance on Malaria to support this objective.
“He also sat on the board of the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company and Friends Africa and was an honorary member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria and a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and Institute of Credit Administration,” the statement pointed out
