UYO-The Coordinator of the office of the First Lady, Lady Helen Eno Obareki, has flagged off the distribution of 1,000 customised market tables and umbrellas to traders across Akwa Ibom State.
The empowerment initiative, fully sponsored by the Akwa Ibom State Business Community, marks a significant scale-up of the marketplace interventions originally championed by the First Lady, Pastor Patience Eno, who had launched branded aprons for market women in 2024.
Speaking at the event, Obareki reflected on her mother’s deep-seated empathy for the retail driving force of the state.
“Today’s event is incredibly special, not just because of the items to be distributed, but because it represents the fulfillment of a sacred vision. This noble initiative was first endorsed in 2024 by my beloved mother, Her Excellency, Pastor Patience Eno. She carried the welfare of market women close to her heart, and today, we are here to ensure that her beautiful legacy of love, care, and grassroots economic empowerment lives on vividly. Driven by her signature empathy, she launched the distribution of aprons to give identity, structure, and a sense of pride to our mothers and sisters in the marketplace.” Obareki recalled.
The coordinator who was represented by a former Dean of the State Executive Council,Dr. Glory Edet, described market women as the “economic engines” and heartbeat of Akwa Ibom communities, acknowledging their invaluable contributions to the state’s economy, while reiterating the commitment of the Office of the First Lady and the Golden Initiative For All (GIFA) to sustaining Pastor Patience Umo Eno’s legacy of compassion and economic inclusion.
“As a complementary pillar of support, the Patience Umo Eno Golden Initiative for All (GIFA) is proudly partnering in today’s exercise. To ensure you trade with dignity and absolute comfort, GIFA is providing specially designed, high-quality GIFA-branded market aprons for our women. These aprons … are practical tools of trade. They have been tailored to help you shield your daily sales, protect your petty cash from sticky fingers, and keep your business records intact while you attend to your customers. We want your hard-earned wealth protected by these aprons.”
The coordinator noted that the intervention by the Akwa Ibom Business Community aligned with the agricultural and food security goals of Governor Umo Eno, under the ARISE Agenda’s subsidising of farm inputs and boosting local food production, emphasising that traders serve as the critical “bridge” between the harvest in the villages and food consumed in various homes.
She commended the leadership of the Akwa Ibom State Business Community for their robust Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) footprint in bringing the project to fruition, encouraging the beneficiaries to utilise the tables, umbrellas and aprons as tools for expanding their businesses, and increasing daily sales.
The president general of the Akwa Ibom Business Community, Mr. Lordswill Umani, said the initiative was conceived during the 2022/2023 election campaigns and was subsequently accepted and endorsed by Pastor Patience Umo Eno, who performed the official inauguration in 2024.
Umani explained that the idea was born out of the desire to make a meaningful impact in the market place by creating opportunities for women entrepreneurs and strengthening the role of the private sector in the state’s economic development.
Also speaking, the chairman of the Advisory Council of the Akwa Ibom Business Community, Professor Akpan Ekpo, stated that the business community was a key component of the ARISE Agenda, emphasizing that the private sector remains the fastest driver of economic growth.
Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, the deputy chairperson of the women wing of the Akwa Ibom Business Community, Mrs. Mary Esara, called for improved access to finance and business empowerment programmes, increased capacity building, expanded market access, greater business visibility, stronger strategic collaborations and enhanced representation of women in public policy and governance.
A significant feature of the ceremony was the symbolic presentation of the tables, umbrellas and Aprons to beneficiaries from Uyo Local Government Area, by Lady Obareki’s representative, assisted by the other women in the delegation from the office of the First Lady – the Special Adviser ,Bureau of Cooperative and Rural Development, Mrs Alice Ekpenyong; the wife of the member representing Mkpat Enin State Constituency, Mrs Comfort Ita; and the wife of the chairman of Etim Ekpo Local Government Area, Mrs Unyime Uwah.
They later inspected the exhibition stands mounted by the women at the event.