By Muhammed Shaeed
October 7th, 2024
The viral report that the daughter of Akwa Ibom state governor, Mrs. Helen Obareki, was appointed as the First Lady of the state has been refuted.
The governor made this known while speaking at the All Nations Christian Ministry International, Eket, on Sunday. He stated that his daughter was appointed as the Coordinator of the Office of the First Lady, a point he made clear to Senator Oluremi Tinubu during her condolence visit.
His words: “Appointing our daughter, who had worked closely with her late mother, as the coordinator is not an appointment as First Lady. You don’t appoint a First Lady. The Office of the First Lady has responsibilities to the women of this state, and my wife had programs she was running—the GIFA, the support for the elderly, and other programs.
“As long as I remain governor, those programs will not die. There must be a coordinator, and it must be someone I see on a daily basis, someone who can walk into my room and brief me, not a distant person.”
The governor, however, stated that his daughter would be addressed as the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor and Coordinator, Office of the First Lady, stating that this decision was one way to bring healing to the family and comfort to himself.