NLC General Secretary Emmanuel Ugboaja Dies At 60

Emmanuel Ugboaja, the General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress, has died at 60.

The labour leader’s death was disclosed to members of the NLC National Executive Council through a family letter read by NLC President Joe Ajaero, according to the reports.

Vanguard reported that Ugboaja died after a protracted illness and that details were still sketchy at the time of its report. Daily Post also reported the death and cited the letter to NLC leaders.

Ugboaja was the fifth General Secretary of the NLC. He was appointed to the position in August 2019 after years in trade union work and civil-society advocacy.

He was born on May 15, 1966, and obtained a law degree from the University of Calabar in 1987. Vanguard reported that he spent about four years in private legal practice before entering the trade union movement in 1993.

The NLC’s historical biography described him as the first Nigerian lawyer to work full-time for a trade union. He earlier served in the National Union of Chemical, Footwear, Rubber, Leather and Non-Metallic Products Employees before joining the NLC Secretariat in 2009.

Sources: Vanguard, Daily Post