Herbert Onyewumbu Wigwe (15 August 1966 – 9 February 2024) was a Nigerian banker and businessman who left an indelible mark on the financial landscape of Nigeria. As the Group Managing Director and CEO of Access Bank Plc, one of Nigeria’s top five banking institutions, Wigwe steered the bank to unprecedented heights.
He died at the age of 57 following a chopper crash on February 10 in California, USA but before then he helped transform an obscure bank into one of the country’s biggest lenders.
The demise of Wigwe, which tragically occurred alongside that of his wife and son, has deeply shaken the corporate landscape in Nigeria. It is a significant blow, particularly for Access Holdings, which had recently mourned the loss of its chairman, Bababode Osunkoya, two months ago.
Wigwe was born in Ibadan in August 1966 to a civil servant father who had previously held a leadership position at the state-owned Nigerian Television Authority. His mother, a nurse, hailed from Isiokpo, in the Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.
He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where he earned a second-class upper degree in accounting in 1987. His professional journey began as a graduate assistant at Coopers and Lybrand Associates Limited, and by 1989, he had achieved the prestigious status of a chartered accountant.
In 1991, he obtained a master’s degree in banking and finance from North Wales University (now known as Bangor University) in the United Kingdom. Subsequently, he pursued a degree in Financial Economics at the University of London. His commitment to continuous learning led him to become an alumnus of the Harvard Business School Executive Management Programme.
Wigwe’s career at Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) was remarkable, where he became an executive director at just 32.
During his tenure at GTB, he formed a strategic alliance with his long-time friend and business partner, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, who was also serving as an executive director at the bank. Together, they embarked on a bold venture: the acquisition bid for the fledgling Access Bank in 2002.
From being the 65th largest bank in Nigeria at the point he and his partner bought it in 2002, the bank is now worth N21.4 trillion in assets as of last September.
In 2019, he played a pivotal role in orchestrating the merger between Access Bank and Diamond Bank, resulting in the formation of Africa’s largest bank by customer base, boasting over 42 million customers.
Under his leadership, the bank transformed into a holding company in 2022, allowing for diversification into various financial services, including payments, pensions, and asset management.
Mr Wigwe led Access Holdings through several mergers & acquisitions outside Nigeria including acquisitions of banks in Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, Botswana and Angola.
Before his passing, the late Wigwe had several significant deals in progress. These included the acquisition of Uganda’s Finance Trust Bank Limited and the takeover of Standard Chartered’s banking businesses in Cameroon, the Gambia, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania.
