It was some sort of positive shocking news to some residents of Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State on Monday when they saw the pictures of Hon. Dame Blessing Nwagba holding an Expression of Interest Form for the Abia South Senatorial District election in 2023.
Some of the residents described Nwagba, as a consummate grassroots politician, judging from her past assignments when she represented Aba North State Constituency twice in the Abia State House of Assembly.
They described her as a great woman, a leader with a passionate heart whose personality alone can make both settlers and indigenous Abia South people come together and cast their votes in unison to send her to the Senate for proper representation.
Recall that Nwagba represented her state constituency (Aba North) twice in the Abia legislative chamber on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and was also the Governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 2019 governorship election in Abia State.
However, she will be contesting the Senatorial election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), a move many residents see as an opportunity to push the agenda of Aba into central government and make the commercial city a serious topic for development in Abuja.
Lady Janeth Osuala, a businesswoman based in Aba said she could not hide her joy when the news broke out, but waited to confirm if it was true or not before spreading it to most of her friends who she said believeee that such a move will be good for Abia South especially Aba.
She said, “I’m simply happy because if she emerges victorious, we’re talking about quality representation. This is not the issue of noisemaking. It is about service. Whoever you send to represent you determines what you’ll get.
“The Aba I see today needs someone like her. Not just like her, needs her to drive the agenda of the development of this city to the table of the Federal government. Abia South is not just Aba, but Aba is the heart of Abia South.
“Her presence in the Senate will make Nigeria understand what we have from Aba to Ukwa and I’m sure things will improve because she knows how to drive her points. I’ve been following her political career for many years.
“It is obvious that only Abia State government cannot develop Aba as we all want. Having a quality representative in a party in the central government is key to what we want.
“We’re not just looking at her party which of course is an advantage, but check out her personality you’ll know why women like me and many others are happy about this news.”
In a similar reaction, Mr Titus Emeribe said that having lived around Dame Nwagba’s constituency during her sojourn in the Abia State House of Assembly made him understand that having her as Senator of Abia South is no brainier because she knows how to make things out from nothing.
“What more can I say? I don’t want to celebrate too much because there’ll be primaries and then the main election. However, I’m happy because of her quality and what she can definitely offer. This is just what some of us need.
“A person that’s accessible and ever ready to listen and improve on certain decisions. I wish her well because if she gets there, Aba and the entire Abia State not just Abia South will be in the news positively every day because she’ll market this city and the entire state to the Federal Government with her good legislative style,” Emeribe said.
Aba-City Blog reports that Hon. Dame Blessing Nwagba’s entrance into the Senatorial race for Abia South could automatically be a game changer in 2023 depending on whom the other parties may present and if she wins the APC primaries.
