The General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Emmanuel Ugboaja, has died at the age of 60 following a prolonged illness.
Politics Nigeria reports that the circumstances surrounding his death were not immediately disclosed as of the time of filing this report.
NLC President, Joe Ajaero, announced the development to members of the Congress National Executive Council (NEC) currently holding a meeting in Enugu State.
Ajaero reportedly conveyed the news while reading a letter from Ugboaja’s family to delegates at the meeting.
Ugboaja was a prominent figure in Nigeria’s labour movement and had served as the NLC General Secretary since August 2019, following the retirement of Peter Ozo-Eson.
His appointment was ratified by the Congress’s National Executive Council at a meeting in Kano, after he emerged through a competitive selection process.
As General Secretary, Ugboaja was responsible for coordinating the NLC’s administrative and strategic operations, working with affiliated unions, managing industrial relations and negotiations with government and employers, as well as translating the Congress’s policies into nationwide mobilisation.
A lawyer and veteran trade unionist, he played key roles in some of the NLC’s major engagements with successive administrations.
Shortly after assuming office in 2019, he was involved in negotiations over the implementation of the N30,000 national minimum wage. The disagreement between organised labour and government over the implementation process brought both sides close to industrial action before an agreement was eventually reached.
Ugboaja remained active in the NLC’s campaigns on workers’ welfare and implementation of wage policies.
In April 2026, he signed an NLC directive calling on workers in states that had yet to fully implement the 2024 National Minimum Wage Act to participate in street rallies on May Day.
Born on May 15, 1966, Ugboaja studied law at the University of Calabar and graduated in 1987. He initially practised as a lawyer in the private sector for about four years before joining the trade union movement in 1993.
His transition into unionism marked a significant development in his career, with the NLC describing him in its historical biography as the first Nigerian lawyer to work full-time for a trade union.
He began his trade union career with the National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber, Leather and Non-Metallic Products Employees (NUCFRLANMPE), an affiliate of the NLC.
Ugboaja rose through the ranks and served as the union’s General Secretary between 2000 and 2005.
He subsequently broadened his experience into civil society, serving as Coordinator, Advocacy and Mobilisation, at the Alliance for Credible Elections between 2006 and 2009 before joining the NLC Secretariat in 2009.
He also represented organised labour at major national constitutional reform exercises, serving as a delegate to the Political/Constitutional Reform Conference convened under former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2005 and the Constitution Review Conference under former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014.
Before becoming NLC General Secretary, Ugboaja served as Principal Assistant General Secretary and Head of Industrial Relations and Organising..
