NIGERIA – The Board of Directors of Access Holdings Plc has announced the appointment of Ms. Bolaji Agbede as the acting Group Chief Executive Officer.

This follows the death of its former Group Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Herbert Wigwe.

Wigwe died in a helicopter crash alongside his wife, son, and a former chairman of the Nigeria Exchange Group, Abimboloa Ogunbanjo.

A statement made by the company’s Board of Directors and dated February 12, 2024, stated that the appointment was subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria

“The appointment of Ms. Agbede is in alignment with our robust succession planning practices,” Mr. Abubakar Jimoh, the Chairman of the Company said.

“We are strongly convinced that Ms. Agbede, being the Company’s most Senior Executive with exceptionally rich, professional and leadership experience and understanding of the Access culture, would provide the much-needed leadership to steer the Company towards the attainment of its strategic vision of building a globally connected community and ecosystem, inspired by Africa for the world.”

Until her recent appointment, Ms. Agbede was the Company’s most senior founding Executive Director in charge of Business Support.

She has nearly three decades of professional experience cutting across banking and business consultancy services.

Ms Agbede commenced her professional career in 1992 at Guaranty Trust Bank and served in various capacities within the Commercial Banking and Operations functions rising to the position of Manager in 2001. She subsequently served as the Chief Executive Officer of JKG Limited, a business consulting outfit in 2003.

Ms. Agbede joined Access Bank Plc in 2003 as an Assistant General Manager and was responsible for managing the Bank’s portfolio of chemical trading companies.

She served as the Bank’s Head, Group Human Resources between 2010 and 2022 and was appointed the Company’s founding Executive Director, Business Support in 2022. She has a track record in successful people integration in business combination and culture transformation.

She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics and Statistics from the University of Lagos (1990) and a Master of Business Administration Degree from Cranfield University UK in 2002. She is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management UK and the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria.

Ms. Agbede has attended several renowned leadership and professional development programs including the High-Performance Leadership Programme organized by the IMD and the Strategic Talent Management Programme organized by the London Business School.

Access Holdings acquires majority stake in Uganda’s Finance Trust Bank

Nigeria’s Access Holdings will acquire an 80 percent stake in Uganda’s Finance Trust Bank Ltd in a transaction that will be closed in the first half of this year.

The transaction will see Access Bank -the subsidiary- inject funds into Finance Trust Bank to boost its capital base, which will help promote financial inclusion and product diversification.

The two banks will bring together their technological capacities, providing FTB’s customers with access to diversified digital platforms to transact and get banking services while leveraging Access’s expertise to tap into revenue opportunities.

FTB runs 35 branches serving over 500,000 savers and 42,000 borrowers with over 40 percent of these being women.

Access Holdings Plc is a Nigeria-based financial holding company with operations in various business segments including banking, consumer lending, payment services, insurance brokerage and pension fund administration.

Access Bank has more than 700 branches and service outlets on three continents. The Group operates in 20 countries and has over 65 million customers.

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