Sanwo-Olu, Abiodun, Adesina, Others Present As Friends, Associates Pay Tribute To Wigwe

Friends, business leaders, relatives, and colleagues came together at the Eko Hotel in Lagos on Monday, March 4, 2024, to say their final goodbyes to the late Herbert Wigwe, the former Group Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings Plc.

Wigwe, his wife, son, and former chairman of the Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGX Group), Abimbola Ogunbanjo, died in a helicopter crash in the United States on February 9, 2024. Another two crew members died in the tragic accident.

Weeks after the aircraft disaster, Wigwe’s friends and supporters—among them the best businesspeople in the nation, governors, and government officials—gathered in the commercial hub of the country as Wigwe’s burial rites got underway with an event titled “Celebrating Herbert Wigwe – A Professional Legacy.”

Some of the dignitaries who graced the event include the Chairman of Dangote Group Aliko Dangote; the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Yemi Cardoso; the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Wale Edun; the President of the African Development Bank Group Akinwumi Adesina; Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos; Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State among others.

Speaking, Governor Sanwo-Olu said Wigwe embodied the true spirit of Lagos State, saying the nation’s commercial nerve centre won’t forget him.

Sanwo-Olu described Wigwe as a “completely detribalised” person whom ” Lagos will not forget”.

Tributes also came in from Cardoso and Edun who both recalled the late Access Holding group CEO’s contributions to the nation’s economy.

“He was so full of ideas and creative in his thinking,” Edun said about Wigwe with Cardoso describing the death as a “profound loss”.

The President of the African Development Bank Group, Akinwumi Adesina also lauded Wigwe’s ingenuity, stressing that “everything he touched turned into gold”. (VanguardNews)