The coordinator of the Office of the First Lady of Akwa Ibom State, Lady Helen Eno-Obareki, has identified education, security and social empowerment for the girl-child as strategic investments with high returns.
She spoke at the Government House Banquet Hall, Uyo, during the celebration of the 2025 International Day of the Girl Child with the theme, “The Girl I am, The Change I Lead: Girls on the Frontlines of Crisis”.
Lady Obareki, therefore, underscored the importance of investing in girls’ education and empowerment as crucial for the collective future of the state.
She noted that when a girl’s right to safety, education, and health is compromised, it jeopardises not only her future but also the future of the state.
The first lady-designate highlighted the Golden Initiative for All (GIFA), a pet project of her late mother, explaining that it was deliberately designed to translate global goals for girl-child empowerment into tangible local impacts.
“The strategic investments in a girl’s dignity, her education, and her empowerment, will yield returns across health outcomes, economic growth, and generational stability.
“We must understand that when a girl’s right to safety, education, and health is compromised, it is not just her future that is jeopardized, but the collective future of our state.
“Under the visionary ARISE Agenda of our Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, and through the commitment of the Office of the First Lady, we are dedicated to dismantling these barriers.
“Our pet project, the Golden Initiative for All (GIFA), which I am privileged to chair, has been strategically designed to ensure that the global goals for girl-child empowerment are translated into tangible local impact.
“Through GIFA, the initiative is making targeted investments in enhancing leadership, learning, and economic empowerment for girls,” she stressed.
She called on stakeholders, including government agencies, community leaders, parents, and teachers, to renew their commitment to the girl child and her advancement.
Also, Obareki urged girls to invest their strength, own their voice, and never stop learning, describing them as “the heartbeat of progress and the leaders the world is waiting for.”
The deputy governor, Dr. Akon Eyakenyi, urged girls in the state to prioritise education, noting that “the child right law domesticated in the state will help in protecting children from exploitation.”
