The General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Emmanuel Ugboaja, has died at the age of 60 after a prolonged illness.
The circumstances surrounding his death were not immediately disclosed.
The NLC President, Joe Ajaero, announced Ugboaja’s death to members of the Congress National Executive Council (NEC) during a meeting in Enugu State.
Ajaero reportedly informed the delegates while reading a letter from Ugboaja’s family.
Ugboaja had served as the NLC General Secretary since August 2019, following the retirement of Peter Ozo-Eson. His appointment was approved by the NLC National Executive Council at a meeting in Kano after he emerged from a competitive selection process.
As General Secretary, Ugboaja was responsible for the administrative and strategic activities of the NLC. He also worked with affiliated unions and represented the Congress in negotiations with the government and employers.
A lawyer and experienced trade unionist, Ugboaja played important roles in several labour negotiations and campaigns over workers’ welfare.
After becoming General Secretary in 2019, he was involved in negotiations over the implementation of the N30,000 national minimum wage. The disagreement between labour and government over the implementation of the wage had raised the possibility of industrial action before an agreement was reached.
Ugboaja continued to participate in the NLC’s campaigns for better working conditions and the implementation of wage policies.
In April 2026, he signed an NLC directive asking workers in states that had not fully implemented the 2024 National Minimum Wage Act to join street rallies on May Day.
Born on May 15, 1966, Ugboaja studied law at the University of Calabar and graduated in 1987.
He worked as a private lawyer for about four years before joining the trade union movement in 1993.
He began his union career with the National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber, Leather and Non-Metallic Products Employees (NUCFRLANMPE), an NLC affiliate.
Ugboaja later became the union’s General Secretary, a position he held between 2000 and 2005.
He also worked in civil society as Coordinator of Advocacy and Mobilisation at the Alliance for Credible Elections between 2006 and 2009 before joining the NLC Secretariat in 2009.
Ugboaja represented organised labour at major constitutional reform exercises, including the Political/Constitutional Reform Conference organised under former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2005 and the Constitution Review Conference under former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014.
Before becoming NLC General Secretary, he served as Principal Assistant General Secretary and Head of Industrial Relations and Organising.
His death is a major loss to Nigeria’s organised labour movement, where he spent more than three decades working on issues affecting workers’ rights, wages and labour policies.
