The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Access Holdings Plc, Bababode Osunkoya, is dead.

According to a statement filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited on Thursday night, Osunkoya died after a brief illness on Tuesday.

The statement signed by the company secretary, Sunday Ekwochi, said that “Consequent upon the tragic event, the company now has a nine-member board comprising of six non-executive directors (two of whom are independent) and three executive Directors inclusive of the group chief executive officer.”

The financial institution revealed that the board will announce Osunkoya’s successor subsequently.

Bababode Olukayode Osunkoya was a seasoned professional with several years’ experience spanning across banking, accounting, asset leasing and consulting. He served as Managing Partner at Abax-OOSA Professionals (Chartered Accountants). Before then, he worked as the Principal Partner of Bababode Osunkoya & Co from 1994-2007.

He joined Premier Hotel Limited , Ibadan in 1984 for his National Youth Service Corp programme following which he joined Z.O. Ososanya & Co. (Chartered Accountants) in 1985 rising to Assistant Audit Manager in 1988. He subsequently moved to Abacus Merchant Bank Limited where he worked between 1989 and 1993 and rose to the level of a manager. He was a General Manager in Konsuma Credit Limited between 1993 and 1995 where he oversaw the daily administrative and operational activities of the asset leasing and credit finance company.

Osunkoya currently sat on the boards of several organisations including Haggai Mortgage Bank Limited; Richardson Oil and Gas Limited; Sedoso Agro Allied Company Limited and Guiding Light Assembly. He was also an Executive Committee member of the Association of Reporting Accountants and Auditors in the Capital Market.

He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from the University of Lagos, and was a certified forensic accountant. He was also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN). He attended several leadership and professional development programmes in leading institutions in areas of accounting, audit, taxation, finance, and corporate governance.