Global Leaders Pay Tributes to Herbert Wigwe At Remembrance Ceremony
Dignitaries around the world, including President Bola Tinubu, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley were among prominent world leaders who paid tributes to the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Access Group, Herbert Wigwe, at his one-year remembrance ceremony held yesterday in Lagos.
Wigwe, alongside his wife, Doreen, and son, Chizi, as well as Chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc., Abimbola Ogunbanjo, died in a helicopter crash in the Mojave Desert near the California-Nevada border in the United States of America (USA) on February 9, 2024, exactly a year ago.
In honour of the legacy he left behind, a first memorial ceremony was held yesterday at Eko Hotels and Suites where tributes were entertained from families, friends and other well-wishers from all over the world.
The event was graced by several dignitaries, including Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwolu; Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido; Consul General of France in Lagos, Laurent Favier; and Prime Minister of Barbados, Mottley.
In his message, Tinubu, who was represented by Edun, described Wigwe as “more than just a banker, he was a builder of institutions and dreams and people”.
In his tribute delivered by the consul general of France in Lagos, Favier, Macron described Wigwe as a friend of France.
According to him, “As we commemorate the first anniversary of his sudden death, the government of France salutes an exceptional entrepreneur, a man who served his country and the public interest, a friend of France.
Mottley stated that fairness and authenticity were the core of Wigwe’s philosophy.
According to her, “It is said that strong passion is what drives us. And in Herbert, immediately, I found a man who had both purpose and passion, and for whom obstacles were simply the decorations of life that we found along the pathway, but not the obstacles to progress.
Similarly, in a tribute conveyed by Access Holding’s Acting CEO, Bolaji Agbede, former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo said what struck him most about Wigwe was his relentless energy and firm devotion to Africa’s development.
Obasanjo said, “Herbert is no longer with us but his legacy endures. One of his best known legacies is Access Bank; whenever I come across the achievement of Access Bank; memories of Herbert come flooding back.
