Herbert Wigwe: US Deepens Probe As Senator, Kolade Visit Family

As investigators from the United States National Transportation Safety Board intensify their inquiry into the tragic helicopter crash that claimed the lives of Access Holdings Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, his family, and associates in California, several notable Nigerians have been visiting the bereaved family members in Lagos.

The US NTSB had taken the aircraft wreckage and other exhibits to laboratory on Tuesday. Finding show investigators examination and analyses of the debris and materials are still ongoing.

However, Nigerians have continued to visit the deceased families. One of them is them is the Rivers State governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party in the 2023 election, Magnus Abe. Abe, who visited the Lagos home of the Wigwes on Thursday, the late GCEO of Access Holdings as a man who stayed connected to his roots despite his achievements.

He said this in a chat with The PUNCH at the residence of Wigwe’s aged parents in Lekki, Lagos.

He said, “There is a lot that one fan away about Herbert but what I think is obvious to everyone on the continent of Africa is that he has become one of the giants of the financial industry in our time and the most interesting thing about Herbert was that while he achieved all these things he was still a simple Port Harcourt boy.

“He was part of everything that we did in Port Harcourt, he takes everybody’s calls, he was in touch with everybody. He was still part of the network. He was just an amazing character for such a young man. To climb so high and yet everyone sees you as one of the boys and part of the home crowd. I think that was the most amazing thing about him.”

Speaking on the accommodating attitude of Wigwe’s father, Abe who returned to the All Progressives Congress last month said, “Most importantly is his father, who is a father to many of us. Whenever I’m in Lagos, I come here, I eat and he’s like that with everybody. It is not just the loss of a family, one tribe or one country, it is a great loss to humanity. I don’t really think there’s much one can say but God will help all of us.”

Also seen at the deceased’s family house was Christopher Kolade; Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, Wigwe’s friend, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, both of who left the house in the afternoon.

NIA mourns

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Insurers Association has expressed deep sadness over the Wigwe’s passing alongside, his wife, son, and a former Nigerian Exchange Group Chairman, Abimbola Ogunbanjo, in the  helicopter crash in the United States on Friday.

In a statement by the Chairman of NIA, Olusegun Omosehin, it noted that the association extends its deepest condolences to the bereaved families, and the entire Access Holdings Group during this period of grief.

The NIA said that “late Wigwe was a successful banker, a great patriot, and an important voice in the financial sector, who made huge contributions to the development of Nigeria’s economy.”

It said his passing away is truly a loss to the financial sector and the country.

“The NIA prayed that Almighty God will grant the entire families enough strength to bear the pain of the untimely deaths,” the statement said.