Access Holdings Plc has announced the appointment of Mrs. Ifeyinwa Osime as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors of Access Bank Plc, its flagship subsidiary, following the retirement of Mr. Paul Usoro, SAN.
According to a statement from the bank, Mr. Usoro retired on January 29, 2026, upon completing his regulatory tenure limit.
Mrs. Osime is an accomplished legal practitioner with extensive experience in corporate governance, strategic leadership, and board oversight. She joined the Board of Access Bank in November 2019 as an Independent Non-Executive Director.
Before her appointment as Chairman, she served as Chairman of the Board Human Resources and Sustainability Committee, as well as the Board Governance, Nomination and Remuneration Committee. In these roles, she made notable contributions to leadership development, governance structures, and sustainability initiatives within the bank. She also served on several other board committees.
Beyond Access Bank, Mrs. Osime is a director at Ebudo Trust Limited and a Partner at McPherson Legal Practitioners, where she advises on corporate and commercial legal matters while contributing to the firm’s strategic leadership.
Her previous board experience includes serving as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Coronation Insurance Plc, Board Chairman of Coronation Life Insurance Company Limited, and Non-Executive Director at Bank PHB, now Keystone Bank Limited.
Mrs. Osime began her professional career at Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation before joining African Development Insurance Company Limited (ADIC), now NSIA Insurance, where she served as Company Secretary and Assistant General Manager, Administration and Legal.
She is a law graduate of the University of Benin, Benin City, and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1987. She also holds a Master of Laws in Commercial and Corporate Law from the London School of Economics. In addition, she has attended executive education programmes at leading global institutions, including INSEAD, IMD, Harvard Business School, MIT, and Stanford University.
Mrs. Osime is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, Women Corporate Directors (Nigeria Chapter), and the Chartered Institute of Directors Nigeria, where she serves on the Executive Committee of the Women Sectoral Group.
