By Halimah Olamide
The Governor of Akwa Ibom State, has clarified that his daughter, Mrs. Helen Eno Obareki is the coordinator of the Office of the First Lady
This was contained in a statement by the governor’s Chief press secretary, Ekerete Udo, following earlier reports that Mrs Obareki was appointed as the First Lady, following the passing of her mother, Patience Eno.
“Our attention has been drawn to a misreporting by a section of the press on the appointment of Mrs. Helen Eno Obareki as the Coordinator of the Office of the First Lady, as well as her substantive appointment as the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor. We wish to set the record straight.
“It would be recalled that during the condolence visit by our Nation’s First Lady and Wife of the President, Distinguished Senator Oluremi Tinubu, CON, to Governor Umo Eno last Friday, the Governor had presented his daughter, Mrs. Helen Eno Obareki, as the “Coordinator of the Office of the First Lady” to the Wife of the President.”
According to the statement, the Governor was specific on the new title and role Mrs. Obareki would be expected to perform.
He had stated that Helen, “having worked closely with her mother in the Office of the First Lady, will now coordinate the activities and functions of the Office of the First Lady to ensure that her pet project, Golden Initiative for All (GIFA), and other initiatives the late First Lady was working on will be continued and expanded. Her new title is the ‘Coordinator of the Office of the First Lady.’”
“We are, however, amused to see reports that stated the Governor had “appointed his daughter as the ‘New First Lady.’”
“For the avoidance of doubt, First Ladies are not appointed, and there has never been such a precedent before.”
The statement expressed appreciation to the press for the support shown since the First Lady’s passing.
However, it demanded respect for the privacy of the family at this moment of bereavement through their reportage.
“While we thank the press for the overwhelming support they have shown since the unfortunate passing of the Wife of the Governor, which the Governor had acknowledged in his State-Wide Broadcast last Friday, we again plead that they respect the privacy of the family at this moment of bereavement through their reportage.”
Mrs. Obareki, the newly appointed ‘Coordinator of the Office of the First Lady,’ holds a Bachelor’s degree in Multidisciplinary Studies from the University of Oklahoma (2011) and a Master’s degree in Business Administration with special concentrations in Human Resources Management from Oklahoma Christian University (2012), United States of America.