Reaction as Governor Eno Appoints Daughter as First Lady After Wife's Passing

• Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State has introduced his daughter, Helen Obareki, to take over the role of the deceased First Lady, Pastor Patience Umo Eno
• This decision was announced during a condolence visit by Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, sparking debate over the appropriate designation for Mrs. Obareki's new role
• Governor Eno emphasized that he is not planning to marry a new wife, but aims to uphold his late wife's legacy through his daughter's coordination of the First Lady's office

Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State recently stirred controversy over the appropriate nomenclature after introducing his daughter, Mrs. Helen Obareki, to Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, as his choice to take over the role of the deceased First Lady of Akwa Ibom State, Pastor Patience Umo Eno.

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Announcing on September 26 the passing of his wife and First Lady of Akwa Ibom State, Pastor Patience Eno, Governor Umo Eno had, through Ini Ememobong, Commissioner for Information, asked the public to respect his family’s privacy as they mourned.

Ironically, the governor would, 10 days later, stir the same public to meddle in his family affair.

He had chosen the condolence visit by the wife of the President, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, to announce the engagement of his first daughter, Mrs. Helen Eno Obareki, to take over the Office of the First Lady of Akwa Ibom following his wife’s passing.

The consequence was the debate over how to designate the circumstantial appointment. Some interpreted Eno to have made the daughter the First Lady, some saw it as Acting First Lady, just as others named her Coordinator of Akwa Ibom First Lady’s Office.

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Eno’s daughter to coordinate first lady’s office amid speculations and public debate

Remi Tinubu was on condolence to the Enos in Uyo with the wife of the Vice President, Hajia Nana Shettima, some state governors’ wives, and those of presiding officers of the National Assembly.

On how best to sustain the late wife’s legacies, encapsulated in her pet project, Golden Initiative For All (GIFA), the governor told his guests, “It is not an easy task ahead. But to sustain the Office of the First Lady, I wish to introduce our daughter, Mrs. Helen Eno Obareki, and hand her over to you all. She will continue to coordinate the activities of Her Excellency’s office, working closely with our mothers, the Deputy Governor, and the Commissioner for Women’s Affairs and Social Welfare.”

During a separate condolence visit the same day, Eno had conveyed the same decision of the daughter’s appointment to Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and colleagues, with a touch of humor on that occasion.

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Against the speculation of an existing second wife, the governor had told his comforters from the Senate, “I’m not about to marry a new wife now,” joking he didn’t have the money to pay for bride price.

“No one will be able to fill that vacuum (of her deceased wife). Her legacy will live in our hearts. She had started projects and I had to introduce our daughter, Helen, to the First Lady. So she would step in to coordinate that office so that the office would still be active in doing the programmes that she had started.”

Eno expressed his confidence in his daughter’s ability to uphold the values and vision of her late mother, vowing to maintain the projects and programs initiated through the Office of the First Lady.

Reaction around the coordinator's role

Zik Gbemre, Coordinator, Niger Delta Peace Coalition, said, “The governor was the one who stirred fuss over the matter with the manner he introduced it. The dust it raised was not about whether he calls the daughter First Lady or Acting First Lady or Coordinator.

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“He had it all planned but announced it as a passing statement to the wife of the President. Yes, Akwa Ibomites had to hear his daughter is taking over as First Lady with the visit of Tinubu’s wife.

“That was a show of insensitivity to Akwa Ibom people who the Office of the First Lady directly serves. He doesn’t have to struggle to justify the appointment. Whatever nomenclature he gives it changes nothing.

“It is what is; a change to transfer the privileges and pecks of the non-statutory office from a late wife to a daughter. I don’t envy him. He gave the room for public invasion of his privacy. You cannot make such public appointment the way you did and expect the people not to talk.”

Eno speaks over tragic death of wife

Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, has broken his silence nine days after the sudden passing of his wife, Pastor Patience Umo-Eno.

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In an emotional statement released on Friday, October 4, Governor Eno described his wife as "everything a man could ever wish for in a virtuous woman."

Source: Legit.ng