The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has confirmed the death of its General Secretary, Emmanuel Ugboaja, at the age of 60, following a prolonged illness.
Ugboaja’s death was disclosed on Thursday by NLC President Joe Ajaero, who conveyed the news to members of the Congress’s National Executive Council (NEC) during a meeting in Enugu. Ajaero reportedly read out a letter from the late labour leader’s family informing the union of his passing. Details surrounding the circumstances of his death were not immediately made public.
Ugboaja was a veteran trade unionist and lawyer whose career in the labour movement spanned more than 30 years. Born on May 15, 1966, he obtained a law degree from the University of Calabar in 1987 and spent about four years in private legal practice before moving into trade unionism in 1993 a shift that, according to the NLC’s historical records, made him the first Nigerian lawyer to work full-time for a trade union.
He began his union career with the National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber, Leather and Non-Metallic Products Employees (NUCFRLANMPE), an NLC affiliate, rising to serve as its General Secretary between 2000 and 2005.
Between 2006 and 2009, he stepped outside conventional trade unionism to serve as Coordinator, Advocacy and Mobilisation, at the Alliance for Credible Elections, a civil society group focused on electoral matters, before joining the NLC Secretariat in 2009. He went on to become Principal Assistant General Secretary and head of the Congress’s Industrial Relations and Organising department.
Ugboaja was appointed the NLC’s fifth General Secretary in August 2019, when the Congress’s National Executive Council ratified his appointment at a meeting in Kano, succeeding the retiring Peter Ozo-Eson.
As General Secretary, Ugboaja ran the administrative and strategic machinery of the NLC coordinating affiliates, managing industrial relations, negotiating with government and employers, shaping policy and mobilising workers while President Ajaero served as the Congress’s principal political face.
His tenure placed him at the centre of major labour negotiations, including discussions around the implementation of the National Minimum Wage. As recently as April 2026, he signed an NLC directive calling on workers in states yet to fully implement the 2024 National Minimum Wage Act to participate in street rallies on May Day.
Ugboaja’s death comes as the NLC’s National Executive Council was in session in Enugu. Further details on funeral arrangements and tributes from labour and government circles are expected in the coming days.
