Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, has faulted a media report suggesting that his first daughter, Mrs. Helen Obareki, has been appointed as the First Lady of the state.
The governor’s wife, Mrs. Patience Umo Eno, passed away on September 26, 2024.
During a condolence visit by the Wife of the President, Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu, Governor Eno clarified his daughter’s role in the Office of the First Lady.
He explained that Mrs. Obareki, as Special Assistant to his late wife, was in the right position to coordinate the office.
Speaking at the All Nations Christian Ministry Intl, Eket, on Sunday, Governor Eno described the move as a gesture that came more out of a natural outcome than a product of political expediency.
He said, “Please listen to me and listen well, First Ladies are not appointed, they come with the governor. I made a statement, and I would like to repeat that statement for the avoidance of doubt. Our daughter, Mrs. Helen Obareki, will coordinate the office of the First Lady. She had been with the mother from the beginning, and you heard the First Lady of the Nation, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, say ‘The mother introduced her to me’.”
He emphasized that Mrs. Obareki’s appointment was not an appointment of a First Lady.
The governor said, “So appointing her as the coordinator is not an appointment of a First Lady. You don’t appoint a First Lady. So, by appointment, she is a Senior Special Assistant to the Governor and the Coordinator, Office of the First Lady. This is not political, it is natural.”
Governor Eno explained that asking his daughter to coordinate the office would bring healing to the family, keep the office running, and serve as one of the ways he would find comfort.
Uno said, “All I pray for is support and wisdom for her to be able to ensure that none of those programmes will die and that she will bring more insight and innovation to the office.”
He stressed that priority attention would be given to his wife’s pet project, “Golden Initiative For All,” and other support programs for women, the elderly, vulnerable, and less privileged.
He said, “The only reason I brought this up again is for clarification, that I am conscious of what I am doing, and it is to bring healing to the family and allow the office to keep running. That’s one of the ways I will be comforted.”
Governor Eno further explained, “Even when Jesus died, Peter said ‘Choose from amongst us those that were with Jesus’. So, for me, the Office of the First Lady has responsibilities to the women of this state, and my wife had programmes she was running: the GIFA, the support for the elderly and the other programmes, and as long as I remain governor, those programmes will not die.”
He emphasized the importance of having a coordinator who is familiar with the office’s operations.
He added, “There must be a coordinator, and it must be someone that I see daily, someone that can walk into my room and brief me, not a distant person.”
Governor Eno expressed gratitude to Mrs. Tinubu and her entourage for their condolence visit and acknowledged her support for Mrs. Obareki’s appointment.
He also thanked the church for their consolation messages and charged them to find solace in the word of God.