IT was an evening of tributes on Sunday as family members, colleagues and friends of the late former chairman of Access Holdings, Dr Herbert Wigwe, gathered to honour him and members of his family during the first memorial service.
Among those who paid tributes to Wigwe were President Bola Tinubu, French president, Emmanuel Macron; former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Wigwe died alongside his wife, Doreen, and son, Chizi in a helicopter crash on February 9, 2024 in the United States of America.
President Tinubu, represented on the occasion by the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, described the deceased as “a man who embodied vision, wisdom and generosity.”
The president appreciated Wigwe’s role in the economy and education sectors in Nigeria with Access Bank and Herbert Wigwe University.
Governor Sanwo-Olu, in his tribute, described the deceased as “more than a friend but a brother.”
Sanwo-Olu said: “We lost a man whose presence was larger than life. The pain of their passing still lingers like a wound.
“We would have done anything; we would have done everything to change the turn of events that fateful night. He was not a man of half measure; he was a builder, not just of businesses but of people, of ideas and future. He was a man who lived perpetually, not in the present but in the future. Action, not words, was his language.
“Where others saw obstacles, he saw opportunities. He truly believed in Nigeria. He believed in Africa. He gave his all to everything be believed in.”
Chief Obasanjo, whose tribute was read by the acting CEO of Access Holdings, Bolaji Agbede, described Wigwe as a “builder of institutions.”
President Macron, who was also represented at the event, described Wigwe as “an exceptional entrepreneur who was a friend of France.”
He, therefore, urged everyone who love him to “keep his legacies alive.”
Pastor Igodalo said the late Wigwe was his “chief comforter” when he lost his wife, who was until her death working with Access Bank.
According to Igodalo, Wigwe was probably the last person who spoke with his wife before her last breath.
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