Access Holdings installs Ike as group CEO in 48-hour leadership overhaul

Access Holdings Plc named banking veteran Innocent Ike as its new chief executive officer, concluding a 19-month search to permanently fill the leadership vacuum created by the tragic death of co-founder Herbert Wigwe.

The appointment, effective August 29, is the capstone of a sweeping 48-hour leadership overhaul at Nigeria’s biggest lender by assets. It brings an end to the interim tenure of Bolaji Agbede, who will revert to her role as Executive Director for Business Support after steering the financial behemoth through a period of profound uncertainty.

Agbede was appointed on an interim basis in February 2024, just days after Wigwe, his wife, and son died in a helicopter crash in California.

“We are thrilled to welcome Mr. Innocent Ike,” Access Holdings Chairman Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede said in a statement on the Nigerian bourse. “At the same time, we want to express our deepest gratitude to Ms. Bolaji Agbede. Her outstanding contributions over the past 18 months have been invaluable.”

During her tenure, the company credited Agbede with ensuring workforce stability and executing a crucial N351 billion ($234 million) rights issue.

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The move appears to be part of a deeper, coordinated corporate restructuring. It comes just 24 hours after Roosevelt Ogbonna stepped down from his position as a non-executive director at the holding company to focus solely on his role as CEO of the group’s flagship subsidiary, Access Bank Plc. That decision was a direct response to new Central Bank of Nigeria corporate governance guidelines aimed at strengthening the independence between a holding company’s board and its subsidiaries.

Ike, who takes the helm of the $16.6 billion corporation, is a familiar face. He spent a decade at Access Bank, rising to the level of General Manager. He returns to the group after a stint as CEO of Polaris Bank from 2020 to 2022, where he was credited with driving its digital transformation.

“I look forward to building on the strong legacy established by Herbert Wigwe and Bolaji Agbede,” Ike said in his acceptance.

The rapid-fire appointments signal a decisive move by the board to establish a stable, long-term leadership structure and align with stricter regulatory demands, closing a chapter defined by tragedy and transition for the Nigerian financial giant.