Access Holdings: We’ll soon announce acting GCEO to succeed Wigwe

Access Holdings says it will soon announce the appointment of an acting group chief executive officer after the passing of Herbert Wigwe.

Wigwe, wife, son and Abimbola Ogunbanjo, the former group chairman of the Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGX Group), died in a helicopter crash in the US.

The Eurocopter EC130 helicopter conveying them crashed around 10pm on Friday in California — 7am on Saturday in Nigeria — near the Nevada border.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the United States, during a media briefing held at 6pm Pacific time on Saturday (3am on Sunday in Nigeria), said an investigation into the crash pointed to rainy and wintry weather as reasons for the accident.

With Wigwe’s death leaving the GCEO position vacant, Access Holdings said it will appoint a temporary replacement as stipulated by the company’s policy.

“In line with the Company’s policy, the Board will soon announce the appointment of an Acting Group Chief Executive Officer even as we remain confident that the Access Group will build further on Dr. Wigwe’s legacy of growth and operational excellence,” Access Holdings said.

Before his passage, Wigwe occupied the Group CEO position for two years after his appointment on March 28, 2022.

Prior to his appointment, he had occupied various positions within Access Bank, from being the deputy managing director at Access Bank from 2012 to 2014, when he became the group managing director and CEO.

He served as the chairman of Access Bank (Ghana), Access Investment & Securities Limited, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) and presently as chairman of Access Bank (UK) Limited and Unified Payments Services Limited.