Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, an All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, has slammed Senate Chief Whip Orji Uzo Kalu for declaring that it is his turn to be Senate President.

On Wednesday, Eze said Kalu was wrong to claim sole authority over the leadership of the 10th Senate, which will be inaugurated in June.

He urged the former Abia Governor to focus his efforts on clearing his name of the massive corruption allegations leveled against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The claims by Senator Orji Uzo Kalu, the incumbent Chief Whip of the Senate, that it is his right to be elected as the Senate President is mischievous and unacceptable, seeing that he is yet to free himself from the corrupt charges still hanging on his neck and for ruining the chances of APC in Abia State through his poor style of leadership, he said.

The South Eastern region of Nigeria, according to the APC chieftain, has been serially neglected in terms of the allocation of key national offices since the ouster of the PDP administration at the centre.

He urged the APC to seize the opportunity to redeem itself by ensuring that the position of Senate President is awarded solely on merit to the South-East.

According to the River APC stalwart, the plea was necessary because the South-West and North produced President-elect Senator Bola Tinubu and Vice President-elect Senator Kashim Shettima.

Eze backed the choice of Governor David Umahi for Senate President by Ohanaeze Ndigbo and the Ebonyi State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists.

He said:

Apart from the fact that Governor Umahi was the Southern Campaign Director of APC during the last Presidential Campaign but due to his ingenuity in politics, Ebonyi is one of the very States in Nigeria that elected three APC Senators, an APC Governor and almost hundred percent of elected APC House of Reps and State Assembly, while the opposite is the case of Senator Orji Uzor-Kalu in Abia State where the Labour Party is now the ruling party.

I have watched this embodiment of unique feats and his magic in turning Ebonyi State from a desert to the Dubai of Nigeria within a space of eight years. I have also watched his vast connections with political leaders and stakeholders within the South East and across other divides of this nation and feel that he is the most suitable candidate for this particular office if it is zoned to the South East.