Access Holdings Plc has appointed Mr. Innocent Ike as its substantive Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (GMD/CEO), effective August 29, 2025, following regulatory approval. The announcement comes hours after Roosevelt Ogbonna resigned from the company’s board in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) 2023 corporate governance guidelines.
Ike’s appointment marks a new phase for Access Holdings under the chairmanship of Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, who returned to lead the group after the passing of former Group CEO Herbert Wigwe in 2024. Leadership changes have accelerated in recent months, with long-serving director Seyi Kumapayi leaving the board earlier this year, and Ogbonna stepping down to comply with the nine-member board limit for HoldCo structures.
Innocent Ike succeeds Bolaji Agbede, who served as Acting GMD/CEO for 18 months. Agbede will return to her role as Executive Director, Business Support. During her tenure, she successfully steered the group through a challenging period, overseeing workforce stability, a N351 billion rights issue, and two annual general meetings, earning praise from Aig-Imoukhuede for her “invaluable” contributions.
Ike brings over 30 years of experience in banking and financial services. A University of Lagos graduate in accounting and Fellow of both CIBN and ICAN, he is also a certified IFRS expert. He spent a decade at Access Bank, rising to General Manager with oversight of corporate, commercial, and public sector portfolios, and later served as MD/CEO of Polaris Bank (2020–2022), where he launched the award-winning digital banking platform, VULTe.
“I am honoured to take on this role and excited to work alongside the talented team at Access Holdings,” Ike said. “I look forward to building on the strong legacy established by Herbert Wigwe and Bolaji Agbede, and driving our vision forward to deliver exceptional value to shareholders and stakeholders.”
Roosevelt Ogbonna’s resignation from the HoldCo board has drawn attention in the banking sector. A veteran of Access Bank, which accounts for over 90% of group revenues, his departure follows a board decision to comply with CBN regulations rather than internal disputes, according to sources.
Access Holdings, established in 2022 through a Scheme of Arrangement between Access Bank Plc and its shareholders, operates in 17 markets across Africa and beyond, making it one of the continent’s most diversified financial services firms.
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