Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno has promised that the legacies of touching the lives of the less-privileged children, the aged and the downtrodden enunciated by his late wife, Pastor Patience Eno, would be sustained, even after his tenure.
Governor Eno also lauded his daughter, Lady Helen Eno Obareki, who had assumed the role as the Acting First Lady and Coordinator of the activities of her late mother’s office, for furthering the vision and aspirations of his departed wife, through the Golden Initiative For All (GIFA).
Eno had laid the foundation stone for permanent secretariat of the Initiative at Ewet Housing Estate, in Uyo the state capital.
Governor Eno stated this while speaking at the first anniversary of GIFA in Uyo, where he expressed delight with the ingenuity of Lady Obareki in driving her mother’s dream of enhancing family life, and bringing succour to the less-privileged to reality, despite the demise of its founder and progenitor.
According to the Governor, the event also created opportunity to honour her memory, and celebrate the first posthumous birthday of the departed First Lady whose 57th birthday marked the launch of GIFA in 2024.
“Let me congratulate my dear daughter, the Coordinator of the Office of the First Lady, Noble Lady Helen Obareki for stepping up and taking charge of this great Initiative.
“As you have so eloquently reeled out the achievements recorded in the last one year, it is evident that you have ticked the boxes in all the thematic areas and the impact has been deeply felt. Noble Lady, you have done well, and your mother and indeed all of us here are manifestly proud of you,” he said.
Recalling his wife’s humane disposition as a ‘mother hen,’ who takes care of the needs of others even at the expense of her comfort, the Governor assured that his administration “will continue to further her beliefs through inclusion of women in all facets of his administration’s goals, and also, through programmes like the ARISE Elderly Care Initiative, ARISE Compassionate Homes, as well as intervention on issues of maternal care and gender-based violence.
He also recalled her persistent appeals for 40 percent of women inclusion in the affairs of government, adding that most of the women who have been appointed to public offices are credits to the intervention of the late first lady.
In her address at the event, Mrs Oberaki appreciated the Governor’s support for the initiative and the honour accorded him as the “Pillar of GIFA” which, she said, embodied her departed mother’s vision and passion for uplifting the lives of women, children, the elderly and the vulnerable people in society.
“Going forward, at GIFA, our aim is to ensure that the global development framework, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), make more meaning to the most vulnerable families in our State.
“It is on this note that I solicit your partnership and support in ensuring that we meet the target that we have before us,” she said.
The United Nations Women Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mrs. Beatrice Eyong, in her keynote address, paid tribute to the visioner and founder of GIFA, the late Pastor Eno, and commended Mrs. Obareki for holding the vision to sustain the legacy of her late mother.
Eyong said GIFA in its eight thematic aspirations, which leaves no one behind, aligns with the vision of the UN Women Office which was created to support member states in mitigating gender-based discrimination and its attendant consequences, as well as expanding opportunities for women.
She assured of UN’s support for GIFA as a step towards making the market more accessible for women.
Eyong commended Governor Eno for his remarkable inclusion of women in his administration.
