It was an emotional night when friends, captains of industry, family members, and associates gathered at the Eko Hotel in Lagos on Monday to pay their last respects to the late former Group Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings Plc Herbert Wigwe.

Wigwe died on February 9, 2024, in a helicopter crash in the United States, alongside his wife and son as well as a former Chairman of the Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGX Group) Abimbola Ogunbanjo. Two crew members also died in the ill-fated crash.

Weeks after the air mishap, his associates including the country’s finest businessmen, governors, and government officials among others converged in the nation’s commercial nerve centre as Wigwe’s burial rites commenced with an event tagged, ‘Celebrating Herbert Wigwe –  A Professional Legacy’.

Some of the dignitaries who graced the event include the Chairman of Dangote Group Aliko Dangote; the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Yemi Cardoso; the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Wale Edun; the President of the African Development Bank Group Akinwumi Adesina; Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos; Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State; the Chairman and Vice Chairman of Channels Media Group Dr John Momoh and Shola Momoh respectively among others.

Leading the tributes, a tearful Dangote described Wigwe as his brother and friend.

“He was a pillar of support to me, and my family,” an emotional Dangote told the gathering in Lagos in a speech in which he also renamed the road leading to the Dangote Refinery after Wigwe.

For Governor Sanwo-Olu, Wigwe embodied the true spirit of Lagos State, saying the nation’s commercial nerve centre won’t forget him.

According to Sanwo-Olu, Wigwe was a “completely detribalised” person whom ” Lagos will not forget”.

There were also tributes from Cardoso and Edun who both recalled the late Access Holding group CEO’s contributions to the nation’s economy.

“He was so full of ideas and creative in his thinking,” Edun said about Wigwe with Cardoso describing the death as a “profound loss”.

That was not all! The President of the African Development Bank Group, Akinwumi Adesina also hailed Wigwe’s ingenuity, saying “everything he touched turned into gold”.

Aside from those present, there were also tributes from top personalities like President Bola Tinubu, French President Emmanuel Macron among other global leaders.