Umo Eno: My daughter appointed as coordinator not first lady

Umo Eno, governor of Akwa Ibom state, says he did not appoint Helen Eno-Obareki, his daughter, as first lady after the death of his wife, Patience Umo Eno.

On September 26, Patience died after an illness. 

During a condolence visit by Oluremi Tinubu, Nigeria’s first lady, the governor said his administration would sustain the office of the deceased and that Helen would help coordinate its affairs.

However, the governor’s statement was misconstrued to mean that his daughter had been assigned the responsibilities of the first lady.

But in a statement on Monday, Ekerete Udoh, chief press secretary to the governor, said Helen was appointed as coordinator to ensure continuity of his late first lady’s projects.

“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,” the statement reads.

“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.

“During the presentation, the Governor was specific on the new title and role Mrs. Obareki would be expected to perform. He 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.

“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.”