SUNTV Global Channel | December 27, 2025 | News
Fresh allegations by the family of late labour icon, Pa Michael Imoudu, have reopened painful questions about how Nigeria treats its national heroes, with former Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) president and ex-Edo State governor, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, accused of abandoning and humiliating the country’s foremost unionist at the point of burial.
The allegations were made public by Pa Imoudu’s daughter, Dr Veronica Imoudu-Omosun, during the 20th posthumous anniversary of the renowned labour leader held on December 20, 2025, in Lagos.
Pa Imoudu, widely celebrated as “Labour Leader Number One” and credited with leading Nigeria’s first General Strike, died in 2005. But according to his daughter, the honour accorded him in life did not extend to his burial.
Dr Imoudu-Omosun alleged that the NLC leadership under Adams Oshiomhole failed the family at their most critical moment. She disclosed that a tripartite burial committee comprising the Imoudu family, the NLC and the Edo State Government was set up after her father’s death. While she acknowledged that the Edo State Government released some funds, she claimed none reached the family.
She further revealed that the NLC launched an “Imoudu Burial Appeal Fund,” attracting donations from affiliate unions, corporate organisations and individuals. However, despite the public appeal, the family allegedly received no burial support.
As the burial date drew near with no funds released, the family reportedly sent the eldest son, Dr Wilfred Imoudu, to meet Oshiomhole. What followed, according to Dr Imoudu-Omosun, was a response that left a lasting scar.
“In denying the family assistance, he reportedly asked: ‘Can’t you bury your father?’” she said.
Dr Wilfred’s reply, she added, was simple: “We can bury our father in our own way.”
Beyond the burial funds, the family also accused Oshiomhole of frustrating plans for a lying-in-state in Lagos, where Pa Imoudu lived most of his life and where workers hoped to pay their last respects.
According to Dr Imoudu-Omosun, arrangements had been concluded to fly her father’s remains from Benin to Lagos and back the same day, with the Nigerian Air Force Base in Benin agreeing to handle the return flight at a modest cost.
Based on this plan, the NLC formally wrote to then Lagos State Governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on August 26, 2005, requesting logistical and financial support, as well as a release of workers to attend the ceremony.
She said the Lagos State Government responded positively, approving Rowe Park, Yaba, as the venue, granting a half-day holiday for workers, and releasing funds. In a letter dated September 30, Lagos State reportedly donated ₦1 million to the NLC Lagos State Council and ₦2 million to the NLC National Headquarters.
However, Dr Imoudu-Omosun alleged that despite repeated demands, Oshiomhole refused to release part of the ₦2 million to pay for the flight. As a result, she said, Pa Imoudu’s remains were never flown to Lagos and the planned lying-in-state was cancelled.
The revelations have cast a shadow over Oshiomhole’s celebrated labour credentials, especially in light of Pa Imoudu’s lifelong sacrifices for Nigerian workers.
Despite his fame and mass following from the 1940s until his death, Dr Imoudu-Omosun recalled that her father died a poor man, never owning a personal house and at one point facing eviction from the modest residence popularly known as “Imoudu House.” She noted that it took the intervention of Chief Obafemi Awolowo to secure basic comfort for him late in life.
While expressing gratitude that the 20th anniversary remembrance is now holding in Lagos, she contrasted the present with the past, noting that the current event is being jointly organised by the Imoudu family and what she described as a “more responsive NLC leadership.”
For labour historians and activists, the account has revived uncomfortable questions about how Nigeria honours its heroes — and how a man regarded as the father of trade unionism was allegedly asked, even in death, “Can’t you bury your father?”
— SUNTV Global Channel
