Chopper Tragedy Claims Access Holdings CEO Wigwe’s Life
A chopper conveying Herbert Wigwe, CEO of Access Bank and Access Holdings, and around five other passengers crashed in California, USA. The aircraft, a Eurocopter EC 130, crashed last Friday night close to Nipton, between Nevada and California, on its way to Las Vegas. When the helicopter crashed in California close to the Nevada border, Wigwe, his wife, and their kid were among the passengers, along with Abimbola Ogunbanjo, the group chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGX Group). According to reports, they travelled to Las Vegas to witness the Super Bowl, the American National Football League’s (NFL) annual league championship game.
All of the people on board were confirmed dead, according to a statement released yesterday by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). According to the FAA, no survivors have been found as of yesterday. We received information on a downed aircraft on February 9, 2024, at about 10:12 p.m. The collision site was identified as being east of the 15-Freeway, close to Halloran Springs Road, according to a statement released by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. When this report was filed, the National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA said they were investigating what caused the disaster.
Wigwe began his career as a chartered accountant with the multinational business Coopers & Lybrand Associates. Subsequently, he relocated to Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, where he worked for over ten years as a portfolio manager for financial institutions, major companies, and multinational companies. In March 2002, he resigned as Executive Director at Guaranty Trust Bank to become Deputy Managing Director and co-lead Access Bank Plc restructuring. Effective January 1, 2014, he was named Group Managing Director/CEO, a position he held until May 2022. After that, in May 2022, he was named a Non-Executive Director of the Bank.
Wigwe graduated from the Harvard Business School Executive Management Programme till his death. He graduated from the University College of North Wales with a master’s degree in banking and international finance, the University of London with a master’s degree in financial economics, and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has also named him a Fellow. Wigwe serves as the Chairman of The Access Bank (UK) Ltd. and as a Non-Executive Director of the FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, Agri-Business/SME Enterprises Investment Scheme, Shared Agents Network Expansion Facilities Ltd., and Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company Plc. Additionally, he is a member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria’s (CIBN) Governing Council.
It is impossible to overstate his outstanding accomplishments in turning Access Bank into a Holdco organization. In fact, under his direction, the bank became a top-tier African financial institution after it was placed 65th out of 89 banks operating in Nigeria. He established the bank’s global recognition and visibility by creating subsidiaries in Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Furthermore, he was a key player in the 2018 merger of Access Bank and Diamond Bank, which elevated the bank to the top in several categories, including assets and retail business with over 600 locations. At the 2021 African Banker Awards, Wigwe won the “African Banker of the Year” honour for his exceptional leadership in the bank’s market development amid the COVID-19 epidemic.
In addition to his work at Access Bank, Wigwe was active in several charitable endeavours via the Herbert Wigwe Foundation, which supports entrepreneurship, women’s empowerment, health, and education. He is a fervent supporter of social impact and sustainable development in Nigeria. Renowned for his leadership, strategic
intelligence, and unwavering dedication to promoting constructive transformation, he is a highly esteemed and powerful personality within the Nigerian banking sector. He started a university project called Wigwe University. Still, the wind of death carried him away before he could see it through, nor any of his other visions.
