Roosevelt Ogbonna has been appointed the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank, Nigeria’s largest lender by asset.
This follows the appointment of the incumbent, Herbert Wigwe, as the Group MD/CEO of Access Holdings Plc.
Ogbonna has since 2017 been Access Bank’s deputy managing director. Prior to 2017, he was appointed executive director, commercial banking division, in October 2013. He is a thoroughbred and consummate professional with over two decades of banking experience having joined Access Bank in 2002 from Guaranty Trust Bank, according to a statement.
The entire 35,545,225,622 issued shares of Access Bank were on Monday delisted from the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) while Access Holdings’ entire issued share capital of 35,545,225,622 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each were listed on the daily official list of NGX at N9.95 per share.
Access Holdings shares gained 30 kobo or 3.02 percent to N10.25 (nearing its 52-week high of N10.6) at the close of trading session on Monday from the preceding trading day’s N9.95. Investors on Monday traded 15.457 million units of Access Holdings shares valued at N156.404 million.
Trading in the shares of Access Bank Plc was suspended last Thursday to prevent trading in the shares of the bank in preparation for its eventual delisting from the daily official list of the NGX and the listing of the holding company, Access Holdings Plc, on the Exchange.
The delisting of Access Bank and listing of Access HoldCo on NGX are pursuant to the Scheme of Arrangement between Access Bank Plc and the holders of its fully paid ordinary shares of 50 kobo each as approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and sanctioned by the court.
The statement said, “Ogbonna has a very rich professional cum academic background. He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, an honorary member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government’s Senior Executive Fellow programme, an alumnus of Harvard Business School and a CFA charter holder.
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“He holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from IMD Business School, Switzerland; a Master’s degree (LL.M) in International Corporate & Commercial Law from King’s College, London; an Executive Master’s degree in Business Administration from Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business; and a Bachelor’s degree in Banking and Finance from University of Nigeria, Nsukka.”
The board of Access Holdings also announced the appointment of Victor Etuokwu as Access Bank’s deputy managing director (Retail North) and Chizoma Okoli as deputy managing director (Retail South).
It announced the resignation of Adeolu Bajomo as executive director, information technology and operations with effect from September 30, 2022.
Etuokwu was appointed an executive director of the bank in 2012 and his appointment was renewed in 2022 following the expiration of his second term.
He has approximately three decades of banking experience cutting across operations, information technology, business development and retail banking.
“He commenced his professional career in Citibank Nigeria where he served in various capacities including head, operations and records and reconciliations. He joined the bank in 2003 and has led several critical projects including the mergers with the defunct Intercontinental Bank Plc and Diamond Bank Plc,” the statement said.
It said Okoli commenced her professional career in 1992 as an executive trainee in the defunct Diamond Bank Plc where she distinguished herself and rapidly rose through the ranks to become an executive director in 2016.
Following the bank’s merger with the defunct Diamond Bank in 2019, she was appointed executive director, business banking division by the bank.
“Her robust experience cuts across commercial and consumer banking, corporate banking, branch banking, institutional banking, business banking and business development. She obtained a Bachelor’s of Law degree from University of Benin and a Master’s in Business Administration from Warwick Business School, United Kingdom,” the statement said.
It said the three appointments had been approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria and would be effective May 2, 2022.
The board also announced the resignation of Adeolu Bajomo as executive director, information technology and operations with effect from September 30, 2022.
The statement said this followed his decision to pursue other personal interests.
Bajomo, according to Access Bank, has confirmed that he has no disagreement with the board and there is no matter relating to his resignation that needs to be brought to the attention of the regulatory authorities. “The board would like to express its appreciation to Bajomo for his contributions to the bank,” Access Bank said.
Commenting on the developments, Bababode Osunkoya, chairman of the board said: “The new appointments reflect the robustness of our leadership succession plan and our decision to considerably strengthen our retail business while harnessing the potentials of SMEs and financial inclusion towards the attainment of group’s strategy.
“The appointees have been selected based on their exceptionally rich, professional, academic, and corporate board experiences, which are all relevant to the needs of our board. We are deeply convinced that their skills will no doubt continue to add significant value to our bank’s quest to become Africa’s Gateway to the world.”
