Ibori Pays Tribute as Former Delta Deputy Governor Benjamin Elue Dies at 85

Former Governor of Delta State, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, has paid tribute to his former deputy, Chief Benjamin Elue, following Elue’s death at the age of 85.

Elue served as Deputy Governor from 1999 to 2007 during Ibori’s tenure, a period many political observers in Delta State describe as a formative phase in the state’s democratic development after Nigeria’s return to civilian rule.

In a public message posted on his official Facebook page, Ibori said he received the news with grief and remembered Elue as a steady and committed partner in government.

“Heartbroken to lose my gentleman Deputy Governor, Chief Benjamin Elue. Thank you for the memories and the legacy. Rest on, Alum,” Ibori wrote.

The former governor’s reaction has drawn attention to Elue’s role in the early years of the state’s Fourth Republic administration, where both men worked together in the executive arm for two terms. Political associates say that period helped shape institutional continuity in the state.

In an interview he granted in 2017, Elue had reflected on that era and credited Ibori with setting a governance direction that later administrations followed.

“Delta State is on course. From the onset in 1999, we left a template for good governance and luckily for us, that same group is still on ground. The transition has been quite smooth,” he said at the time.

Elue’s comments in that interview were widely interpreted as an endorsement of policy continuity and orderly handover processes in Delta State politics.

His death is being viewed by many stakeholders as the close of a significant chapter in the state’s political history, especially among those who participated in, or closely tracked, the early post-1999 democratic administrations.

Beyond his years in office, Elue is remembered by allies and observers as a senior political figure who remained connected to debates around governance and development in Delta State long after leaving executive office.

As tributes continue, attention is likely to remain on the legacy of the 1999–2007 administration and the working relationship between Ibori and Elue, which both men repeatedly described as central to their years in government.