NLC General Secretary Emmanuel Ugboaja dies at 60 after prolonged illness

The General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Emmanuel Ugboaja, has died at the age of 60 after a prolonged illness.

Ugboaja, who was the fifth General Secretary of the NLC, reportedly died on Thursday, August 27, 2026. Details surrounding his death remained sketchy at the time of filing the report.

Vanguard reported that NLC President Joe Ajaero read a letter from Ugboaja’s family to members of the Congress National Executive Council, who were meeting in Enugu State.

He began his union career with the National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber, Leather and Non-Metallic Products Employees, an NLC affiliate, and later served as its General Secretary from 2000 to 2005.

Between 2006 and 2009, he worked with the Alliance for Credible Elections as Coordinator of Advocacy and Mobilisation before joining the NLC Secretariat in 2009.

Ugboaja also participated in major national political and constitutional reform processes. He was a delegate to the 2005 Political/Constitutional Reform Conference under former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the 2014 Constitution Review Conference under former President Goodluck Jonathan.

He was appointed NLC General Secretary in August 2019, succeeding Peter Ozo-Eson, with the appointment ratified by the NLC National Executive Council in Kano on August 21, 2019.

Ugboaja was widely regarded as a veteran trade unionist with a legal background and extensive experience in organised labour, civil-society advocacy and national policy negotiations.