Innocent Ike takes over as Access Holdings GMD/CEO
Access Holdings Plc has appointed Mr. Innocent Ike as its substantive Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, effective August 29, 2025, following regulatory approval. The announcement, contained in a statement released on Wednesday and signed by the company secretary, Sunday Ekwochi, comes hours after Roosevelt Ogbonna resigned from the company’s board in compliance with new corporate […]
Access Holdings Plc has appointed Mr. Innocent Ike as its substantive Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, effective August 29, 2025, following regulatory approval.
The announcement, contained in a statement released on Wednesday and signed by the company secretary, Sunday Ekwochi, comes hours after Roosevelt Ogbonna resigned from the company’s board in compliance with new corporate governance rules issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
New Phase under new leadership
Ike takes over from Ms. Bolaji Agbede, who has steered the company in acting capacity for the past 18 months after the death of former Group CEO, Herbert Wigwe, in 2024.
She will now return to her role as Executive Director, Business Support.
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Access Holdings Chairman, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, said Ike’s appointment signals a new phase for the group.
He said, “We are thrilled to welcome Mr. Innocent Ike as we move forward.”
Daily Trust reports that the leadership change is part of the drive by the Chairman to consolidate his leadership of the holding company following the demise of the former GMD/CEO.
The appointment of the new GMD/CEO came hours after the holding company announced that Roosevelt Ogbonna, a Non-Executive Director, has stepped down from the board after three and a half years.
The holding company disclosed in a corporate filing to the Nigerian Exchange and signed by the Company Secretary, Sunday Ekwochi that although Ogbonna is retiring from its board, he will continue to serve as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank Plc, the Group’s banking subsidiary.
According to the statement, his resignation is aimed at ensuring compliance with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Corporate Governance Guidelines for Financial Holding Companies (2023), which stipulate that no more than nine directors can sit on the board of a financial holding company.
The board expressed its gratitude for his contributions, noting: “The board appreciates Mr. Ogbonna for his outstanding and continued contributions to the Access Group.”
Ogbonna was appointed Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank Plc in May 2022, after serving as Deputy Managing Director from 2017 and Executive Director from 2013. He joined Access Bank in 2002 from Guaranty Trust Bank and has built up more than two decades of experience in the banking industry.
Earlier in the year, another top director, Seyi Kumapayi, left the board.