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The General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Emmanuel Ugboaja, has died at the age of 60 after a prolonged illness.
Ugboaja, who became the fifth General Secretary of the NLC in 2019, was a respected labour leader, lawyer and advocate whose career in Nigeria's trade union movement spanned more than three decades.
Although details surrounding his death were still sketchy as of press time, NLC President Joe Ajaero reportedly informed members of the Congress' National Executive Council during a meeting in Enugu after receiving a letter from Ugboaja's family.
Born on May 15, 1966, Ugboaja graduated with a law degree from the University of Calabar in 1987 and briefly practised law before joining the organised labour movement in 1993.
He is widely recognised as the first Nigerian lawyer to work full-time for a trade union.
Ugboaja began his trade union career with the National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber, Leather and Non-Metallic Products Employees, where he later served as General Secretary from 2000 to 2005.
His contributions also extended beyond organised labour. Between 2006 and 2009, he served as Coordinator of Advocacy and Mobilisation at the Alliance for Credible Elections before joining the NLC National Secretariat in 2009.
He was a delegate to the 2005 Political and Constitutional Reform Conference convened by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and also participated in the 2014 National Conference under former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Before his appointment as NLC General Secretary in 2019, Ugboaja served as Principal
