Abuja, Nigeria – Tony Elumelu, the prominent Nigerian business leader and Chairman of the pan-African investment company Heirs Holdings, has announced the death of his father-in-law, Chief Israel C. Ogbue. The patriarch and former corporate executive passed away peacefully at the age of 99, leaving behind a significant legacy of leadership within Nigeria’s financial and insurance sectors.
Okay News reports that the billionaire disclosed the passing in a tribute published on his personal blog on Saturday. According to the announcement, Chief Ogbue died on Wednesday, February 18, 2026 (WAT), a date that poignantly coincided with his 99th birthday.
Elumelu, alongside his wife, Dr. Awele Elumelu, described the late businessman as a foundational figure in both his personal life and professional career, noting that his passing leaves an unfillable void in their family.
Chief Ogbue played a crucial stabilizing role during a pivotal era of expansion for the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Group. He joined the institution’s board as a Non-Executive Director in 2005, the same year Elumelu led the historic merger between Standard Trust Bank and UBA—a consolidation recognized as one of the most transformative banking mergers in Sub-Saharan Africa. Bringing decades of senior leadership experience from the National Insurance Corporation of Nigeria and NAL Merchant Bank, Ogbue was later appointed Chairman of the UBA Board, serving from 2011 to 2013 to reinforce the bank’s corporate governance.
In his public statement, Elumelu reflected on his father-in-law’s rare combination of wisdom, steadiness, and principle, which he said inspired everyone around him to be better. “There are people who walk into your life and quietly become part of its foundation,” Elumelu wrote. Remembering the patriarch as a man of deep Christian faith and a devoted family man, he added: “A life that long, and that beautifully lived, is its own kind of monument. The kind that doesn’t crumble.”
