• As Access Corp. stock falls by most in 9 days
By Francis Ekeh
The federal government through the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has offered its full cooperation to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the investigation of the tragic Airbus Helicopter EC130B4 crash that resulted in the death of Herbert Wigwe CFR, the group CEO of Access Holdings and five others who were onboard.
The accident which involved the Airbus Helicopter EC130B4 occurred on Friday, February 9, 2024, at about 10:08 PM. (Pacific Standard Time) near Interstate 15 in Halloran Springs, California
Abimbola Ogunbanjo, former Chairman of the Nigerian Exchange Group, Wigwe’s wife, and son also died in the crash.
NSIB is the multimodal transport agency in Nigeria responsible for promoting transport safety and conducting objective and thorough, investigations into transport accidents. Similarly, the NTSB is the counterpart agency in the United States charged with fulfilling the same function as the NSIB.
In a statement by Bimbo Olawunmi Oladeji, the director, of public affairs and consumer protection, the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau said following the helicopter crash that occurred on Friday, February 9, 2024, at about 10:08 PM. (Pacific Standard Time) near Interstate 15 in Halloran Springs, California, the NTSB confirmed the accident via its post on X and stated that it had dispatched its “Go Team” to investigate the accident.
“The ill-fated helicopter, operated by Orbic Air, LLC as a Part 135 charter flight, departed from Palm Springs, California, at 8:45 p.m. PST, en route to Boulder City, Nevada, said Michael Graham, a board member of the National Transportation Safety Board, during a news conference on Saturday.
“Regrettably, the United States authorities have now confirmed that everyone onboard the aircraft lost their lives in the crash. The deceased are two crew members comprising a pilot in command and a “safety pilot” and four passengers namely Herbert Wigwe, his wife, son, and Abimbola Ogunbanjo, former Group Chairman of the Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, (NGX Group).
“In the aftermath of the accident, Alex Badeh, the Director General of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, established contact with NTSB, by Chapter 5 subsection 27 of ICAO’s Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation – Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation, which grants a State (nation) special interest in an accident involving its citizens.
“5.27 A State which has a special interest in an accident by fatalities or serious injuries to its citizens shall be entitled to appoint an expert who shall be entitled to:
visit the scene of the accident; have access to the relevant information which is approved for public release by the State conducting the investigation, and information on the progress of the investigation, and receive a copy of the Final Report,” the statement reads in part.
Olawunmi stated that the ICAO’s Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation therefore grants Nigeria, through the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, the prerogative to appoint an expert to actively participate in the investigation.
She said the participation ensures access to relevant information and facilitates cooperation with the investigating authorities, towards ensuring the investigation reaches a conclusive outcome.
“The ongoing discussion between the NSIB and NTSB has highlighted the diligent investigation efforts of the NTSB. NTSB investigators were present at the crash scene in Halloran Springs, California, on Saturday to collect evidence and conduct initial on-scene documentation. The documentation process included aerial mapping of the wreckage with a drone, and site measurements.
“Correspondence between the NSIB and NTSB further revealed that the NTSB investigation into the crash is being led by Aaron Sauer as the investigator in charge, supported by Mark Ward as the deputy investigator in charge. Several other NTSB investigators will also be examining various aspects of the accident including airworthiness and maintenance structures, operations, meteorology and air traffic control.
“Notably, the airworthiness investigation group initiated a meticulous examination of the debris field, which spans approximately 100 yards. All significant components of the helicopter, including the main transmission, engine, and various avionic elements, were identified and accounted for at the accident site. In tandem, the operations investigation group has commenced gathering crucial company information, including pilot records, flight dispatch records, and aircraft maintenance records.
“Moving forward, coordination is underway by the NTSB to transfer the wreckage to a secure location on Tuesday for in-depth examination and analysis scheduled
Parties to the investigation include Orbic Air, LLC, and the FAA. As the investigation continues, other parties could be named,” she stated.
In a related development, the share price of Access Corporation, the holding company for Nigeria’s largest bank, fell Monday, the first trading day since the tragic death of co-founder and chief executive officer Herbert Wigwe.
Access Bank’s shares fell 6.26 percent to N23.20 as of 2:30 pm Lagos time, the biggest loss since January 30.
GTCO and United Bank for Africa also fell on the day by 0.37 percent and 1.18 percent respectively. The banking index, which tracks the share price movement of listed Nigerian banks, declined 0.88 percent, according to NGX data.
Wigwe, whose death was confirmed by the Bank on Sunday, passed alongside his wife and son in an helicopter crash in California, United States on Friday.
Abimbola Ogunbanjo, former group chairman of the Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, also died in the crash.
Analysts say Wigwe’s untimely death might have left the lender without its visionary leader, but investors are relying on the game plan he put in place to see it through in the future
This means the share price slide yesterday may well be just a blip rather than a reflection of fears that Access Bank may lose its way following Wigwe’s demise.
“When there is a loss of this magnitude investors will look at it closely, and I think where they will find comfort is in the fact that the strategy of the bank is clear,” said Samuel Sule, the CEO of Renaissance Capital Africa, who helped Access raise offshore funds for its expansion.
“They have always had a very clear succession plan on how to move forward.
Wigwe and his friend Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede founded the lender in their mid-30s, after their time at Guaranty Trust Bank. They oversaw the transformation of Access Bank from a small lender to one that acquired the then larger Intercontinental Bank in 2011.
“Wigwe was extremely hardworking, smart, ideal and fair,” said Mustapha Chike-Obi, pioneer CEO of bad bank, AMCON and chairman of Fidelity Bank.
“Reports that Intercontinental bank was given to them is false. Nobody, having done due diligence on the bank, wanted anything to do with it. They were the only bidders for the bank at the time. It went to show the boldness of Wigwe and his partner Aigboje,” Chike-Obi said in an interview on Arise TV.
Wigwe and his partner did not stop there. Access Bank will go on to merge with Diamond Bank in December 2018, in a deal that looked like an acquisition.
“When he wanted to acquire Diamond Bank, I called him and said I hope you are aware that Diamond bank has a negative capital position,” Chike-Obi said. “But he said, don’t worry big brother (as he would call me), I know what I am doing,” Chike-Obi said.
It turned out that Wigwe indeed knew what he was doing.
With a total asset base of N20.9 trillion ($14 billion) as of June 2023, Access bank operates in 20 countries, including the United Arab Emirates and the UK, and has four representative offices in China, India, Lebanon, and Paris.
While the bank’s stock is down, the yield on its bonds due September 2026 were up 7 basis points by 8:53 a.m. in London to 10.04%. That’s the highest since Jan. 10. Similarly, the yield on the perpetual bond rose for the first day in four, climbing five basis points to 12.32%.
Access Holdings has said an acting CEO will be appointed “soon.”
It could name Roosevelt Ogbonna, head of the banking subsidiary, to the position if the board decides to go down the path followed by Wigwe, who was appointed group CEO after serving as the head of the bank.
“Access Bank and the set of leaders next level to Herbert will continue the vision,” said Yinka Odeleye, a private equity investor who was previously the head of corporate finance at Citi Nigeria and before that worked with all three men at Guaranty Trust Bank.
“One thing that Herb and Aig have done over the years is to train and empower their people a lot. Someone like Roosevelt has been with Herbert since he was an assistant banking officer at Guaranty Trust Bank. He was part of the vision, worked with Herbert and Aig from day one. So I am confident that on the Access side, the vision will continue.”
Wigwe started his professional career with Coopers & Lybrand Associates, an international firm of chartered accountants, before spending a decade at Guaranty Trust Bank.
In 2004, he co-engineered the acquisition of local lender Access Bank, where he assumed the post of deputy managing director and eventually became CEO in January 2014, succeeding his business partner and friend Aig-Imoukhuede.
His strategy was to pursue an aggressive growth by connecting Africa in trade and payments and capping risks in its home market of Nigeria.
In 2023, he led the bank’s acquisition of the African assets of Standard Chartered Plc in Angola, Cameroon, Gambia and Sierra Leone, which widened its footprint to at least 17 countries. In the same year he set a target to grow the bank to be one of the top-5 lenders by assets on the continent by 2027 from a ranking of about 12th.
“I believe that they were going too fast and acquiring too many banks at the same time, I was worried that perhaps they were not having sufficient gestation period to put together all of that,” said Omolokun of Standard Chartered bank. “But knowing the kind of people they are, you also felt that they could pull it off.”
Wigwe died just hours before the clock went off at the Access-sponsored Lagos Marathon that draws elite athletes to the humid streets of Nigeria’s commercial center annually. It is the bank’s involvement in such activities that people will now be watching for changes.
Those who knew Herbert said he set “ridiculous” targets, such as demanding that a new digital banking product “that was ahead of its time” hit a million users within three months, said Editi Effiong who worked on the project.
“He set ridiculous targets at all times. But guess what? We hit a million users,” said Effiong who is now a film maker and worked with Wigwe on his personal branding for years. “Every weekend we would meet and we would talk about his life and his work.”
One project that Wigwe dedicated his time to in the last few years is a university that he was bankrolling in his village outside the southern city of Port Harcourt to help students hone the skills needed for the finance and technology industries in Africa’s most-populous nation.
The university’s board of trustees has assured prospective students, faculty and staff that it remains committed to ensuring that the dreams of Wigwe and his aspirations for the project are fulfilled.
Wigwe told Bloomberg in November that he planned to teach and mentor students and engage some of the country’s prominent entrepreneurs, including billionaire Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest person, to teach at the university.
“We need to teach people about the different levels of patriotism and the need for us to change our country and the continent,” he said.