By EMMANUEL  AZIKEN, Political Editor

LAGOS-With Senator David Mark a near shoo-in next month’s Senate President contest, Senators-elect have shifted ground to the contest for other leadership positions with the office of Senate Leader emerging as the hottest attraction.

Expectedly, the contest for Senate Leader has already attracted geo-political interest with the influential Northern Senators’ Forum demanding that the post originally zoned by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP to the South-West be given to the North.

NSF, which is expected to today declare its backing for Senator Mark, Vanguard learnt, would also use the declaration to demand for Senate Leader.

Moslem senators are demanding that in return for the election of Senators David Mark and Ike Ekweremadu as the presiding officers of the Senate, that the next position of Senate Leader should be given to a Muslim. Mark is a Roman Catholic Christian while Ekweremadu is an Anglican Christian.