Helen Eno-Obareki: Carrying Her Mother’s Light Forward

Her life is defined by compassion, hard work, praising and worship God. Since her entrance into Akwa Government House, Helen Eno-Obareki who celebrated her birthday on Monday, continues to inspire and put smiles on faces many in the state. Writes Charles Ajunwa

August 24th came with warmth across Akwa Ibom State. The day was set aside to celebrate Lady Helen Eno-Obareki, the Coordinator of the Office of the First Lady of Akwa Ibom State. 

For many people, it was more than a birthday. It was a moment to acknowledge a young woman who stepped into a very big role at a very difficult time, and who has been trying to keep her mother’s dream alive.

Governor Umo Eno was among the first to speak. As a father, his words were personal. He called her “my dear daughter” and said he was celebrating her on her birthday. He reminded people that since she took over as Coordinator of the Office of the First Lady, she has carried the work with grace, strength, and a deep sense of responsibility. 

“As your father, I am immensely proud of you and the great work you are doing,” he said.

The governor explained why she was given the role. After the sad passing of his wife, Pastor Patience Umo Eno, on September 26, 2024, he said it was both proper and comforting to have their eldest daughter, who had worked closely with her mother from the beginning, continue the programmes of the office. He was clear that First Ladies are not appointed positions. “They come with the governor,” he said. 

Appointing Helen as SSA and Coordinator was not about politics, he stressed, but about continuity and family. 

What made the message heavier was the mention of GIFA. The Golden Initiative For All was the signature project of the late First Lady, Pastor Patience Umo Eno. It was very close to her heart. 

Governor Eno said he was particularly proud of Helen’s commitment to keeping those ideals alive. Through her work, she has continued to push her mother’s vision of touching lives, supporting families, and showing compassion to the vulnerable and the neediest. 

And the work is visible. At the first anniversary of GIFA held at Ibom Hall in Uyo, Helen pledged to sustain the legacies her mother left behind. She listed what the initiative had done in just one year: over 15,000 pupils received school supplies, residents of rural communities accessed free healthcare through the GIFA Wheels of Hope program, and more than 5,000 women were reached with economic empowerment. There is also the GIFA Adult Education Initiative, where men and women from all local government areas are learning to read, write their names, and handle basic daily information. 

Governor Eno prayed for her as she marked her birthday. He asked God Almighty to continue to grant her wisdom, strength, and grace to serve. He also prayed for good health, happiness, and fulfilment in all she does. He ended simply: “Happy birthday, my dear daughter and Coordinator, Office of the First Lady!”

Others in government also joined in. Uduak Ekong, the Press Secretary to the First Lady, described August 24th as the day Akwa Ibom and humanity celebrate a divine gift. Ekong called Lady Helen a rare blend of uncommon grace, visionary leadership, and deep compassion. In his message, Ekong said she has turned compassion into action. She has touched countless lives, uplifted the vulnerable, and stood as a pillar of strength and inspiration.

Ekong noted that on this birthday in 2026, they were honouring her tireless dedication, her radiant heart, and the exceptional legacy she continues to build. Ekong’s prayer for her new age was for boundless joy, renewed strength, and greater grace as she continues to shine. He signed off with “Happy birthday Boss!”

From civil society, Joy Solomon, President of the Pure Wisdom Counselking Founfation, also sent birthday felicitations. She joined brothers and sisters in Akwa Ibom to wish “our Dear mother, Our Noble First Lady, Her Excellency Lady Helen Eno Obareki a happy birthday.” 

Her prayer was that God’s presence would never depart from her and that her light would continue to shine bright. She thanked Helen for being a source of inspiration and a blessing to elderly women, youths, and the younger generation. 

“I celebrate you today and always,” she wrote.

The reason these messages keep coming back to GIFA is because the initiative has become the centre of the office’s work. Helen herself chairs the GIFA Board of Trustees. The programme was designed to translate global goals for women and children into tangible local impact. Under the ARISE Agenda of Governor Eno, the office has focused on dismantling barriers against the girl child’s growth. 

At events marking the 2025 International Day of the Girl Child in Uyo, Helen spoke about education and empowerment as investments with high returns. She said when a girl’s right to safety, education and health is compromised, it jeopardizes not only her future but the collective future of the state. 

“Strategic investments in a girl’s dignity, her education, her empowerment will yield returns across health outcomes, economic growth and generational stability,” she told stakeholders. 

GIFA’s work has also gone beyond schools. In February 2025, to mark the first anniversary of the initiative, Helen visited the Medium Security Custodial Centre in Uyo to donate essential items to inmates. Officers there thanked her, saying her presence and donation brought joy and comfort to the inmates and support to rehabilitation efforts. She told the officers that her visits would be more regular and urged them to keep to the mandate of rehabilitation and reformation. 

This has been another focus. During the 2026 World Malaria Day activities in Uyo, she called for stronger collaboration to eliminate malaria, describing it as preventable and treatable. She said it breaks her heart to still hear statistics of women and children dying from malaria. She stressed that maternal and child health remains central to GIFA’s interventions, and future programs will continue to prioritize malaria prevention and broader healthcare. 

She has also pushed for birth registration. At an empowerment programme for families with twins, triplets and quadruplets under GIFA’s Maternal and Child Healthcare theme, she told health workers and traditional birth attendants to sensitize mothers on registering their children. 

She shared that when her staff gave her a list of 330 babies, insisting on birth certificates made that number reduce drastically. Care packages were also distributed to families to help with the burden of raising multiple children. 

The United Nation has taken note too. During GIFA’s first-anniversary celebration, the UN Women Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mrs. Beatrice Eyong, commended the Coordinator of the Office of the First Lady, Mrs. Obareki, for holding the vision to sustain her late mother’s legacy. The governor himself was given the UN Women ‘He-for-She Ambassador’ title for promoting women’s inclusion in governance. 

All of this explains why Governor Eno keeps returning to one point: this is about legacy. He said the administration is committed to prioritising GIFA and other support initiatives for women, the elderly, the vulnerable, and the less privileged. He described Helen’s qualifications as experience, exposure, education and access. 

“This is not a political appointment, it is a natural one,” he said, and prayed she would have the wisdom to bring even more innovation to the office. 

For Helen, the birthday was a quiet moment of gratitude. She responded to all the messages with a simple note: “Such timeless moments. God bless all of you for celebrating with me.”

That short reply captured a lot. In the last two years, she lost her mother, stepped into public office, and took on a statewide initiative that serves millions. People in Akwa Ibom have watched her go from being her mother’s closest assistant to leading programmes on education, health, economic empowerment, and social welfare. 

What stands out in the tributes is not just the title “Coordinator” but the way people describe her work. Words like grace, compassion, strength, and vision come up again and again. The Press Secretary called her a pillar of strength. The Governor called her proud and responsible. A foundation leader called her a source of inspiration to women and young people.

The facts back that up. GIFA has supplied schools, funded women’s businesses, taken healthcare to villages, taught adults to read, supported families with multiple births, and reached inmates with donations. That is a lot for one office to carry, especially while still mourning.

As she steps into another year, the expectations are high. People want GIFA to grow. They want more girls in school, more women empowered, more children registered at birth, and more communities reached with health programmes. The governor’s prayer for wisdom, strength and grace reflects what many are thinking: this work is not easy, and it will take all of those things.