The newly elected Leader of women in Bonny Kingdom in Rivers State, Nigeria, Helen Jack-Wilson Pepple says she was focused on expanding opportunities for the women of the area with a view to improving their lives.

She further said that to achieve this there was the need for broad-based collaborations and cooperation among the women and other relevant stakeholders.

Pepple said this yesterday during a reception in her honour by the Jack-Wilson Pepple House of Grand Bonny Kingdom in Bonny.

The educationist, entrepreneur and empowerment advocate, who was the first female Secretary of the Bonny Local Government Council, disclosed that life passion has always been to change the narrative of disadvantaged women and the girl child.

“If there is anything I have passion for it is to see to a child out of school get back to school. That your parents cannot pay your fees or that you have lost your loved ones, it becomes a challenge to me. Bringing a remedy to such situations makes me happy, my siblings, my family will attest to this. I do not want to know which tribe you came out from. Or a girl that gives birth very early in age, I want to give hope to that child.”

Pepple, who serves as Secretary of both the Bonny-Bodo Road Project Monitoring Committee (BBRPC) and the Bonny Kingdom Local Content Compliance Committee (BKLCCC), noted that the focus of her foundation, the Helen Pepple Foundation over the years, has been to bring smiles to the faces of the girl child and women in general.

“So, I want to inspire our parents here that we have such situations in our society here. That is what the Helen Pepple Foundation stands for. And we have been touching lives privately without making noise. I don’t believe in making noise, and the Lord has been rewarding me.

The reception was to celebrate her emergence as the Bonny Kingdom Woman Leader and her conferment with the highest feminine title of Bonny Kingdom, Amaopu-Orubo by the Amanyanabo of Bonny Kingdom, His Majesty, King Edward Pepple III, CON, Perekule XI, on Friday, December 27, 2019.

Delivering a keynote address, Chief and Head of Jack-Wilson Pepple House of Bonny Kingdom, Chief Hanniel Jack-Wilson Pepple congratulated the celebrant for exuding sterling characteristics that have endeared her to the leadership and members of the house, which resulted in her nomination for the Amaopu-orubo title.

He praised the Amanyanabo of Bonny Kingdom, His Majesty, King Edward Pepple III, CON, Perekule XI for the honour done to an illustrious daughter of the jack-Wilson Pepple House and for his altruistic initiative to bring the women of Bonny Kingdom together.

The Leader of the Jack-Wilson Pepple House congratulated Helen Pepple and her newly elected executive for their emergence, charging them to remain humble and accommodating in order to achieve broad-based buy-ins from all the women in the kingdom, pointing out that the needed to remain focused and goal-oriented in order to succeed and achieve set goals.  

Chief Hanniel Jack-Wilson Pepple reminded the new leadership of Bonny Kingdom women that the huge burden of serving the kingdom was on their shoulders now and they could not afford to fail, while urging Helen Jack-Wilson Pepple to continue to fly the flag of the house very high.  

On her part, wife of the Chief and Head of Adda-Allison House, Carol Allison extolled the sterling leadership qualities of the new Bonny Kingdom Woman Leader, Helen Jack-Wilson Pepple, noting that her emergence was justified given her exceptional antecedents, having acquitted herself well in previous tasks.

“I saw her as a totally outstanding person. Her profession plays out when she does this secretarial job, very prim and proper. You will be wondering if a woman make mistakes when presenting reports. Little wonder her election came with a loud ovation because everybody had seen that impeccable nature in Helen Jack-Wilson Pepple.”

She further assured her of the support of the women of the kingdom, saying “I join every other woman in Bonny, if I should be speaking the minds of Bonny women to say we are solidly with you and behind you. You will lead and the women of Bonny will surely follow. Whatever directive you give the women will obey. You will have the greatest support you never expected from the kingdom.”

Speaking while proposing a toast in honour of the celebrant, a former Commissioner of Finance in Rivers State, Israel Williams noted that the choice of Helen Jack-Wilson Pepple as Bonny Kingdom Woman Leader was “apt and strategic, especially, at the threshold of development progress Bonny Kingdom has found herself now”.

He expressed the confidence that the celebrant possesses the right qualities and leadership acumen needed to drive the process of empowering Bonny women at a time like this, stressing that expectations were high that she will deploy her wealth of experience in achieving set objectives, adding that all stakeholders of Bonny Kingdom were favourably disposed to availing her the needed support in achieving her assigned task”.