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Personal Assistant to the late Herbert Wigwe, Olusola Faleye, has disclosed the late CEO of Access Holdings introduced him to a better life he only saw in movies.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Faleye made the disclosure while mourning and eulogising Wigwe at the night of tributes on Wednesday.
Wigwe died last month in a helicopter crash in the United States of America, alongside his wife Chizoba and son, Chizi as well as a friend, Abimbola Ogunbanjo.
At the night of tributes, Faleye said: “At the late part of 2018, it was the time Access Bank was to acquire Diamond Bank. Everybody was thrown into a turmoil. “There was uncertainty of what is next. You know what plays out when an institution acquires the other. So, the fate of the staff of the acquired institution became shaken.
“Everybody was worried. I was more worried. Because I didn’t know what was next.
“January, it was a Wednesday and in the midst of my worry; I had a prayer group that we pray every night interestingly binding and casting that the merger should not work.
“That fateful day, my phone rang and I heard “Dr Herbert wants to see you”. I was like, how, from where?
“When I met him, he called me my name and said how are you Sola. I would like you to start working with me. So, I stood wondering where this is coming from.
“He asked me when do I want to start. Before I could say anything, he said report to my office at 6 pm. So, I went that day and we closed at 12 midnight. It was a baptism of what is to come for me.
“That was the beginning of a new life and I came to realise that one of the strengths of Dr Herbert is that he comes to you in the time of storm and he rescues you.
“I can remember vividly my first trip to London. How do you describe a trip where everything you imagined in a movie became a reality?
“I saw myself landed at the airport, the immigration came in to stamp my passport and a vehicle was waiting. I have never seen that in my life before. Only in a movie.
“Guess what, we had dinner with Theresa May that day. How else do you describe a grand entry?”
Faleye went further to disclose how he missed being aboard the helicopter that killed his boss, wife, son, and business associate, Mr. Abimbola Ogunbajo.
According to him, he was supposed to fly in the helicopter, but on second thought, he decided to accompany their luggage by road since the chopper could not carry it.
“Five of us embarked on that journey. I remember Bimbo chatted with me and said he wanted to come with us; it was a Tuesday.
“I told him my boss’s journey is not always straightforward. Sometimes, you can get in the air and divert somewhere else, and he said he was going to wait,” Faleye said.
He went further: “I said he was still going to Abuja that day, and maybe he will be leaving later at midnight, and he said he was going to wait.
“I still tried to let him understand that we will be in London Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday; he said he will stay in his house and wait.
“We flew from London to Palm Springs. I remember, in the middle of the air, I walked up to him. I said, sir, how comfortable are you flying a chopper at night? I have never done it before. And he said a word, he said, ‘This is America, they have navigation systems for flying a chopper at night,’ and I went back to my seat.”
He added, “As they were loading the luggage, this thought started playing in my mind that, okay, you will fly a chopper, one hour you are there. The next three and a half hours, they are not going to come. Will I go to bed, no. I still have to sit down and wait for these luggage to come.
“I was like, why not just go with the luggage and get there and deliver it to him and others in the room. Like I said, I always reason in the line of duty. And I went up to him, I said, sir, I think it’s safer and will be secure for me to just ride and bring the luggage to you. He said, ‘brilliant idea,’ and I said, ‘safe flight.’”