Herbert Wigwe, wife, son laid to rest as Akpabio, Obi, Fubara, Dangote other dignitaries pay tributes

EMMANUEL NLEWEDUM, Port Harcourt

 

 

Tears, pains, agony and tributes poured in for late ace banker, businessman, philanthropist and former Access Bank CEO, Dr. Herbert Wigwe, as he was laid to rest along side his wife Chizoba and son, Chizi Wigwe on Saturday.

 

Many dignitaries, politicians, the clergy, traditional rulers, stakeholders and business class from all walks of life trooped into Rivers State to pay their last respects and celebrate the life and legacies of the late banking guru, his wife and his son, at the funeral which was held in Isiokpo, Wigwe’s hometown in Ikwerre local government area of the state.

 

Dr. Herbert Wigwe, his wife Chizoba, his first son Chizi, Abimbola Ogunbajo, former Chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group, all died in a helicopter crash along the California-Nevade border, in the Midwestern United States, alongside two pilots on Friday, February 9th, 2024.

 

Speaking during the funeral, the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, described the late Wigwe as a great mentor who has positively impacted the younger generations.

 

Akpabio said Nigeria and indeed Africa will live with the pains of his death for a long time, adding that he will continuously be mourned for leaving behind indelible legacies in the education and financial sectors respectively.

 

“The University he has left behind was because of his passion for education, he has supported and sent so many to educational citadels across the world and leaving this edifice behind, you know the university is not only for Nigerians, it is for the entire global community, so just like he was a global banker, opening bank branches all over the place, he actually has dropped a legacy in education that he would be remembered for years to come.

 

“This man has made so much impact around the world, he gave food to so many people in Nigeria and many countries in Africa, even in Dubai, he was also in China, he did a lot, he put food on the table of so many in the world, so I regarded him as a global citizen, an Icon of the world.”

 

On his part, Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara said the late Dr. Herbert Wigwe, together with his wife and son, made enormous and impactful contributions to humanity within the short period they lived.

 

Governor Fubara promised that the state government would immortalise the late financial expert by keeping his dreams alive and giving all necessary support to sustain the legacy of the Wigwe University.

 

He stated that the death of Dr. Wigwe and others should serve as a reflection for politicians who think only of themselves rather than society, tasking them (politicians) to reflect on the essence of the power struggle when it is not actually deployed in impacting society positively.

 

“Here is a man, though not a politician, he made his money through our investments. He had the world in his palm financially. He even controlled the political class.

 

“This takes me to my question about the political class. What is all this struggle all about? You want to kill and bury, to what end?

 

“But today, with all the power financially, he couldn’t control life. Is it not enough for us to ask ourselves, why are we struggling?

 

“Why are we not making enough impact in the life of our people? Please, let the political class reflect on this.”

 

In his remark, former Speaker of the House of Representatives and ex-Sokoto State Governor, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal extolled the qualities of Late Wigwe whom he said gave his best into the Nigerian financial sector but unfortunately met an untimely death.

 

Also speaking, former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus said the vacuum created by the death of Wigwe would be hard to fill, adding that the entire Africa would remember him.

 

“He is our brother and he is a leader and of course you know he is a financial guru, he is like a man who saw tomorrow, he dreamt and he followed his dream to the letter and came back home to establish one of the university that would have been the best and is still going to be the best in the world, is one legacy that he has left that everybody in Isiokpo, in Rivers State and Africa as a whole, would continue to remember him.”

 

Addressing newsmen at the event, the Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State and the state representative on the Board of the NDDC, Chief Tony Okocha described today as a dark day in the history of Ikwerre, Rivers State, Nigeria and the entire world at large.

 

He described the death of Herbert Wigwe as ‘one death too many’ and a colossal loss to humanity, and he prayed that God gives those he left behind the fortitude to bear the loss.

 

Dignitaries who graced the funeral service included former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Governors of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-olu, Alex Otti of Abia State, Douye Diri of Bayelsa State, Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State, Dapo Abiodun of  Ogun state, former Central Bank Governor, Lamido Sanisu Lamido, Labour Party Presidential Candidate in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, former Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi and Sir Celestine Omehia.

 

Others were; Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Aigboje Aig-Imuokhuede, Co-founder of Access Bank, Senator Seriake Dickson, former Governor of Bayelsa state, Timi Alaibe, former NDDC MD, Prince Nduka Obaigbena, Publisher of Thisday Newspaper, Kayode Fayemi, Former Governor of Ekiti state.

 

For a better society

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