ABUJA—The North East caucus of the Senate and the South- South Caucus with the backing of the Presidency are locked in a battle over which zone produces the next Leader of the Senate, Vanguard was told yesterday by senators from the North-East.

According to one of the senators who spoke with Vanguard on condition of anonymity, the President and other members of the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party are rooting for the South-South to produce the next senate leader.

Senator-elect from Bauchi State and present member of the House of Representatives, Hon Abdul Ningi, confirmed to Vanguard that the North- East has made a case for the next senate leader to come from the zone but declined to make further clarification.

According Vanguard source, a meeting between members of the caucus from the north east met with the vice president and Acting chairman of the Peoples Democratic ended in a deadlock as the caucus insisted that the zone produces the senate leader of nothing else.

“We told the Vice president that it is either the senate Leader position or nothing. The leadership of the party was trying to impress on us to accept the post of the Senate Whip. We insisted that the party can take away the Senate leadership position but we are not interested in the Whip. If the North east does not get any position, we can go home and tell our people that the PDP does not want us” the senator said.

Vanguard gathered that if the presidency has its way, the present Deputy leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba is favoured to take over as the leader of the senate from Teslim Folarin in the seventh senate.

The argument of the North east, Vanguard learnt, is that in the political arrangement of the country now, ‘north east is the most marginalized zone. If we cannot get even the senate Leadership, then it is obvious that the PDP does not want us so we will re-examine our membership of the party.

In the other camp, the position of the minority leader is between Senator Ganiyu Solomon and former Governor of Benue state, Senator George Akume who is the only Action Congress of Nigeria elected senator from the whole of the Northern part of the country.

Although the argument of some members of the elected senators since the south West overwhelmingly voted for the Action Congress of Nigeria as such Senator Ganiyu should be the Minority Leader, some leaders of the party are of the view that in order to give the party some national outlook, it is important to allow George Akume emerge the minority Leader.

It was gathered that Senator Ganiyu Solomon may be prevailed upon to step down for Senator George Akume since the South West is likely to produce the House Minority Leader in the House of Representatives.