Onome Amuge
Access Bank, Nigeria’s largest lender by assets, has appointed Ifeyinwa Osime as chairman of its board, a move that showcases the slow but steady rise of women to the highest levels of corporate leadership in Africa’s financial sector.
Osime succeeds Paul Usoro, who retired on January 29 after completing his regulatory tenure limit, Access Holdings said. Her appointment places her at the helm of the flagship subsidiary of Access Holdings Plc at a time when Nigerian banks are facing tighter regulation, foreign exchange volatility and growing scrutiny of governance standards.
For advocates of greater gender diversity in boardrooms, the appointment is symbolically and substantively significant. Despite gradual progress, women remain under-represented in chair and chief executive roles across Africa’s banking industry, particularly in systemically important institutions. Osime’s elevation reflects a significant shift among leading Nigerian corporates towards recognising governance depth, regulatory experience and institutional memory as critical leadership assets.
A seasoned legal practitioner, Osime brings more than three decades of experience spanning law, insurance and financial services. She joined the Access Bank board in November 2019 as an independent non-executive director and has since become a central figure in shaping the bank’s governance architecture.
Before her appointment as chair, she led the board’s human resources and sustainability committee as well as the governance, nomination and remuneration committee; roles that placed her at the centre of leadership succession, executive incentives and environmental, social and governance priorities. These committees have grown in strategic importance as Nigerian banks face rising expectations from regulators, investors and international partners.
Her professional background reflects a blend of technical legal expertise and board-level leadership. A partner at McPherson Legal Practitioners, Osime advises on corporate and commercial matters while contributing to the firm’s strategic direction. She also sits on the board of Ebudo Trust Limited and has previously held senior board roles across Nigeria’s insurance and banking sectors, including as chair of Coronation Life Insurance Company and independent non-executive director at Coronation Insurance. Earlier in her career, she served on the board of Bank PHB, now Keystone Bank.
Osime began her professional journey at Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation before moving to African Development Insurance Company Limited, now NSIA Insurance, where she served as company secretary and assistant general manager for administration and legal affairs. The trajectory has given her a close view of risk management, regulatory compliance and institutional governance.
Her academic credentials underline a strong international orientation. A law graduate of the University of Benin, she was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1987 and later earned a master’s degree in commercial and corporate law from the London School of Economics. She has also completed executive education programmes at INSEAD, IMD, Harvard Business School, MIT and Stanford, aligning her experience with global best practices in corporate leadership.
Beyond the boardroom, Osime is active in professional and civic organisations that promote inclusion and leadership development. She is a member of Women Corporate Directors Nigeria and serves on the executive committee of the Chartered Institute of Directors Nigeria’s women sectoral group. She is also involved in mentoring young people and supports initiatives focused on autism and developmental delays.
Announcing the appointment, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Access Holdings chairman described Osime as a principled and experienced leader with a deep understanding of the Bank’s strategy and values, expressing confidence that she would guide the institution in delivering sustainable value to shareholders and stakeholders.
