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Israeli and
Palestinian leaders began direct peace negotiations Thursday, saying it
was time to end their conflict but projecting tough talks ahead as
hardliners on both sides vowed never to accept a deal.

One day after U.S.
President Barack Obama made a personal appeal for peace, Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the State
Department to begin talks aimed at establishing an independent
Palestinian state.

“This will not be
easy,” Netanyahu said as talks began. “A true peace, a lasting peace,
(would) be achieved only with mutual and painful concessions from both
sides.” Netanyahu said Israel was ready to go “a long way in a short
time” to reach a peaceful solution to the decades-long conflict, which
Obama has signalled is a top priority for his administration.

Abbas called on
Israel to end the blockade of the Gaza Strip and stop settlement
activity — a potential roadblock to any deal. About half a million
Jewish settlers live in communities scattered all over the West Bank
that have the protection of Israeli armed forces, as well as in Arab
East Jerusalem.

Abbas also said the Palestinians recognized the need for security, a key Israeli demand.

“We want to state our commitment to follow on all our … engagements, including security and ending incitement,” Abbas said.

The direct talks,
which mark a risky personal foray into Middle East peacemaking for
Obama, come after a 20-month hiatus. Negotiators face deep divisions
among both Israelis and Palestinians over the prospects for peace as
well as the one-year timeline that Obama has set.

Acknowledging the
“suspicions and scepticism” that surround the talks, Clinton said the
United States would be a sustained partner in the peace effort but
would not impose its own solution.

‘Peace and dignity’

“By being here
today, you each have taken an important step towards freeing your
peoples from the shackles of a history we cannot change and moving
towards a future of peace and dignity that only you can create,”
Clinton said.

The negotiations
were denounced by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which seized
control of the Gaza Strip from Abbas’ Fatah party in 2007 and rejects
negotiation with Israel.

Hamas, which killed
four Israeli settlers in the a West Bank shooting attack Tuesday, said
it would continue the attacks and ignore any deal struck at the talks.

Jewish settlers,
meanwhile, vowed to launch new construction in their enclaves in the
occupied West Bank, saying they could never accept a “phony peace” that
curbs their right to live in what they consider Israel’s biblical
homeland.

Obama, hosting the
talks ahead of the pivotal November U.S. congressional elections, used
separate meetings with Netanyahu and Abbas Wednesday to urge them not
to let the chance for peace slip away.

The issue of
settlements looms large over the peace talks. Abbas has warned he will
walk out unless Israel extends its self-imposed moratorium before it
expires on September 26.

Israel dismisses
international findings that the Jewish settlements that have been built
since the 1980s in the West Bank, on land occupied by the Israeli
military since 1967, constitute a violation of international law.

Netanyahu, who
heads a coalition dominated by pro-settler parties, has resisted any
formal extension of the partial construction freeze, meaning the
fledgling negotiations will face a major challenge within weeks.

Four Israeli
settlers were killed by Hamas in a shooting attack in the West Bank
Tuesday. Another two people were wounded in a similar attack by
suspected Palestinian gunmen on Wednesday despite a crackdown by
Palestinian police.

Netanyahu welcomed
Abbas’ denunciation of the attack, but said it was important that his
government find a way to stop future attacks by Islamists opposed to a
deal.

“They seek to kill our people, kill our state, kill our peace. And so achieving security is a must,” Netanyahu said.

Abbas — whose
Fatah party holds sway in the West Bank — said his fledgling security
services would stay on the hunt for the perpetrators.

“We will continue
all our effort to take security measures in order to find the
perpetrators. We consider that security is of essence, is vital (for)
both of us,” he said.

Jewish settlers,
who have threatened to topple Netanyahu if he does not allow them to
resume building, said they planned to launch new construction even
before the government’s freeze ends on September 26. They also rejected
Palestinian hopes to set up their own state on the West Bank.

REUTERS

The Ondo State Police Command yesterday made a major
breakthrough in its quest to rid the state of criminals, as it paraded
over 52 suspected criminals arrested between July and August this year.
The suspects were arrested for offences ranging from armed robbery,
kidnapping and cultism.

Though most of the suspects denied the allegations
levelled against them, some admitted that they actually committed the
offences and pleaded for mercy.

While parading the suspects at the police
headquarters situated along Igbatoro Road, the state police
commissioner, Ballah Magaji Nasarawa, said the arrests were made in
over eight local government areas of the state. He added that the
suspects were arrested based on tip-offs from members of the public
during distress calls. He explained that 14 of the suspects were
apprehended with dangerous weapons during the recently concluded Ogun
festival in the ancient town of Ondo. “The suspects allegedly attacked
two innocent people who are currently receiving treatment in an
undisclosed hospital in Ondo town,” he said.

Mr Nasarawa added that the suspects will soon be charged to court for conduct likely to cause breach of public peace.

Kidnappers and robbers

Also paraded by the police were two natives of
Okitipupa, Daniel Sunday and Biyi Beke, who allegedly kidnapped a
10-year-old boy, Daniel Iyaomolere. The duo were said to have kidnapped
a boy from Lawanson area of Lagos and later moved the boy to Omotosho
area of Ondo State where they were apprehended by detectives. The
suspects said they were pushed to commit the offence by the situation
of things in the country.

Another gang of six robbery suspects, who have
allegedly been snatching cars at gun point in Akure and other parts of
the state, were also paraded. The police boss said they normally robbed
vehicles at gunpoint in Akure and drove the stolen vehicles to Lagos to
sell.

“Their modus operandi is that these robbers normally
rob a vehicle at gun point from Akure and ferry it to Lagos and sell
it. While in Lagos, they will rob another vehicle and bring it to Akure
and keep it at the state specialist hospital, Akure, collect a tag and
leave it there for safe keeping without the knowledge of the hospital
authority, while they scout for a buyer,” he said.

Mr Nasarawa also informed that four of the robbers
that raided banks in Akure and Ikare had been arrested in Effurun in
Delta State while four other members of the group were arrested in Ogun
State. He said police officers from the command identified the robbery
suspects through the CCTV footage retrieved from one of the banks
robbed in Akure.

Some of the weapons recovered from the robbers were:
one military multi purpose machine gun, two military rocket launchers,
five rockets launchers, dynamite, three strands of explosive cords and
115 magazines painted in military colours with 30 rounds of live
ammunition each.

The tension generated by the alleged de-accreditation
of the Medical and Dental courses in the University of Benin (UNIBEN)
by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria appears to have died down,
as normal activities resumed at the Ugbowo campus of the university
yesterday.

Thousands of students of the higher institution had
taken to the ever busy Ugbowo/Lagos Road on Tuesday to protest the
de-accreditation of the said courses, thereby, disrupting vehicular and
human movement for several hours.

A visit to the campus showed that academic activities
were in full flow. Students were seen receiving lectures in several
lecture halls, while administrative offices were also full of activity.
The famous Akin Deko Hall was full to capacity, as it played host to a
memorial lecture organized by the university.

Still apprehensive

Some of the students directly affected by the
de-accreditation were, however, still apprehensive about their fate,
although they refused to be identified.

A female final year dentistry student said she could
not imagine not been able to get her certificate after going through
all the stress of studying. She appealed to the school authority to
expedite action to meet with the requirement of the regulatory council
in order to resolve the issue.

Another final year medical student also expressed
concern, should the Medical and Dental council of Nigeria decide not to
rescind their decision.

“Just think of it, I am already seeing myself as a
medical doctor. That is the dream of many of us. But to hear that the
dream is suddenly dashed, it’s suicidal, my brother. They should rather
kill us physically than killing our dreams,” he said.

It thus appears that the atmosphere could be best
described as uneasy calm, pending the outcome of the meeting of the
Vice Chancellor of UNIBEN with management of the Nigerian Medical and
Dental Council of Nigeria, in Abuja, as some of the students are
threatening to go back to the streets if things are not formalized.

A visit to the public relations officer of the school, Osaze
Osarenren, to obtain his comment yielded no result, as he was attending
a meeting with the vice chancellor. Calls to his phone were not
answered either.

Hundreds of youth from across Nigeria on Thursday
staged a peaceful protest in Kano to demand the immediate release of
Hamza Al-Mustapha, a former chief security officer to the late Head of
State, Sani Abacha.

The youth, led by one Igwe Martins, converged under
the aegis of the ‘Movement for the emancipation of Hamza Al-Mustapha’
and carried an effigy of a human corpse in a traditional casket marked
‘rule of law is dead’.

The youth, who carried placards with inscriptions
such as ‘Goodluck, please free Al-Mustapha’, ‘Free Al-Mustapha’ and ‘12
years is too long, enough of this persecution’ marched through the
Kofar Nasarawa and state roads to the Kano State government house
complex, said the continued incarceration of Hamza Al-Mustapha is no
longer justifiable.

At the palace of the Emir of Kano, Mr Martins called
on Nigerians to explore all means of reaching out to relevant
authorities, aimed at ensuring the immediate release of Mr Al-Mustapha.

“The continuous detention of our son, Al-Mustapha,
has put the northern elements into serious issues of disharmony and
dilemma. Today, it has become absolutely imperative for every patriotic
northerner to sit down and truly answer the question: what wrong have
we done to Nigerian government?

“What is the similarity between Al-Mustapha’s case of
attempted murder and that of the OPC’s Ganiyu Adam and Frederick
Fasheun for the murder of seven policemen in 2002/03? The northern
youth have not forgotten the established cases of treason against the
likes of Asari Dokubo in 2006; Henry Okah in 2008; Nwazurike in
2007/08, etc.

“Today, all these people are freely enjoying their
freedom with their family and friends resulting from the general
amnesty granted by the government of Nigeria.

Political detention

Mr Martins also said the continuous detention of Mr Al-Mustapha is politically motivated.

Wanban Kano, Abass Sanusi who represented the Emir of
Kano, acknowledged that the issue of the continuous detention of the
soldier deserves the sympathy of any well meaning person in the polity.

He, thereby, assured that the Emirate council would
first explore the reason why the Al-Mustapha case has dragged this
long, before arriving at a decision to finally wade into the matter.

“The Emirate council is keen on ensuring justice and
fairness in this matter,” he said. “We would always do everything to
protect the lives and properties of our citizens.

“It is godly to love your neighbour as you would love yourself. We
plead for more time so that we can know why this case is taking too
long to decide. That is the only way we can see how we can assist you.”

The presidential ambition of Goodluck
Jonathan for the 2011 elections has received a boost from the National
Reformation Party (NRP) led by Anthony Enahoro, which said the need for
a renewed obligation to nation-building and his constitutional right
empowered him to contest.

In a communiqué issued and signed by
Soni Chukwumah at the end of its National Working Committee (NWC)
meeting in Benin City, the NRP said it foresaw a glimmer of hope in
President Jonathan’s personal conduct and devoted approach so far
exhibited in critical sectors of energy and power generation, as well
as his restated global commitment to conduct free, fair and credible
elections in our country in 2011.

The party recalled that its foundation
was based on the desire of patriots drawn from all parts of Nigeria and
the diaspora to arouse reforms that would transform the country into a
modern nation-state as envisioned by the founding nationalists.

“To this end, it affirmed its position
that parliamentary federalism was the driving force for the growth of
critical regional sectors that came before unitary system was imposed
on the country to the country’s collective disadvantage till date,” the
party said.

The meeting, which was presided over by
Mr Enahoro, said any patriotic leadership with practical commitment to
advancing the course of true federalism and welfare of Nigerians would
bring fulfilment to Mr Enahoro’s lifetime persuasions.

Jonathan versus Babangida

Meanwhile, political tension is
building in Edo State, as supporters of Mr Jonathan and those of former
military president, Ibrahim Babangida trade words over the suitability
of their candidates for office.

Former Deputy President of the Senate,
Albert Legogie, had last Monday in Benin City, declared that Mr
Babangida was the best candidate of the PDP owing to his experience and
numerous achievements while he was military president of the country.

But the immediate past deputy governor
of the state and coordinator of the President Goodluck Jonathan
campaign in Edo State, Lucky Imasuen, described the claim as laughable.

“They are supporters of IBB; therefore, they have the right to
support him anyway. But Nigerians are very civilized now. IBB is a
great man, and he was president of this nation for eight years. But the
question is what else he wants to achieve for the nation. I read
Legogie saying that IBB helped in laying foundation for the nation’s
democracy, but I remember that this same man singlehandedly annulled
the freest and fairest election in this country,” Mr Imasuen said.

The Federal
Executive Council yesterday approved N3.59 billion for the construction
of a modern and more befitting headquarters for the Code of Conduct
Bureau (CCB) in Abuja.

The nine-storey
building will cost N3.59 billion, although N594 million has been set
aside for it in the 2010 Budget. The balance will be appropriated for
as an ongoing project over the next two years, at N1.5 billion for 2011
and 2012.

Minister of
Information and Communications, Dora Akunyili, disclosed this while
briefing alongside the minister of state, Labaran Maku, after the 29th
session of the FEC meeting, which was chaired by Goodluck Jonathan.

She said the
president had “presented a memo to FEC seeking for approval for the
award of contract for the construction of one block of nine-storey
office complex as headquarters for the code of Conduct Bureau in Abuja”.

According to her, “the present office space for the Code of Conduct Bureau is grossly inadequate”.

The nine-storey
headquarters building to be completed in 26 months is expected “to
decongest the present overcrowded office and end separation of staff at
the annex complex”, she noted.

A boost for education

The FEC also
approved N1.71 billion for the purchase and supply of Primary 6 English
language, mathematics and science textbooks for distribution in public
schools nationwide.

The project will be
funded by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) from the 2010
supplementary budget under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
textbooks initiative for the procurement of textbooks.

Mrs Akunyili said
the contract will be funded by UBEC, for which N438.6 million has
already been earmarked in its 2010 Supplementary Budget 2010, as part
of its efforts to meet the MDG’s textbooks initiative of the UBEC.

The minister of
education had gone to the FEC with a memo “seeking council’s approval
for the award of contract for the printing and distribution of English
language, mathematics and activity-based science books for Primary 6
pupils in public primary schools nationwide, under the MDG’s textbook
initiative by UBEC”.

Mrs Akunyili stated
that “in efforts to consolidate on the achievements made in the
provision of textbooks to public primary schools, the federal
government appropriated N4 billion under the MDGs Textbooks Initiative
for the procurement of textbooks for pupils in public schools
nationwide.

“The textbooks will be customized with the inscription: “MDGs-UBEC TEXTBOOK INITIATIVE 2010 – NOT FOR SALE”.

The contract is awarded to a total of seven companies, with a completion period of six weeks.

The FEC also
approved the ratification of the extension of contract for operation,
maintenance and staff training for the Wupa Basic Sewage Treatment
Plant in Abuja which was commissioned in May 2007. The 12-month
contract valued at N733.31 million is to be funded from the N800
million provision made in the FCT Statutory Appropriation for the
maintenance of the plant.

Mrs Akunyili said the extension of the one-year contract will “allow
sufficient time for the development of local expertise to grasp the
rudiments of the operation and maintenance of the plant”.

The crises rocking
the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) took a turn for the worse
yesterday as a faction of the party headed to court to stop the meeting
of the National Executive Council (NEC) slated for today.

John
Odigie-Oyegun, a member of the splinter faction which last Friday said
it has sacked the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party, said
it wants the court to stop the meeting because it is an illegal
assembly.

He told NEXT in an
interview that, “The tenure of Edwin Ume-Ezeoke’s leadership of the
party expired today (yesterday) having assumed office on September 2,
2006. Our constitution allows a four -year tenure. So, we are in court
already and we joined INEC.”

Court can’t stop us

However, Emma
Eneukwu, the publicity secretary of the party, said these allegations
will not stop the congress, adding, “We’ve not got any court paper. In
any case, what is the big deal in going to court?

It is you media
that is making these people important. Come to the meeting tomorrow
(today) and see for yourself.” The leader of the faction, Muhammed A.
Muhammed, a senator, could not be reached as calls to his mobile
telephone yesterday went unanswered.

“Our NEC meeting is still holding tomorrow (today). We are going ahead and there is nothing stopping us,” Mr Eneukwu insisted.

The group which
announced the dissolution of the Ume-Ezeoke-led working committee is
believed to be loyal to the Kano State governor, Ibrahim Shekarau, who
has announced his intention to contest as presidential candidate of the
party. It appointed Mr. Muhammed to head a transition committee
mandated to run the party pending the conduct of its national
convention where new officers are expected to emerge.

Divided interest

Members of the
splinter group include a former governor of Kogi State, Abubakar Audu,
and chairmen of the party from Anambra, Nasarawa, Kebbi, Rivers, Kano
and Ebonyi.

The Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) which reportedly sent two
representatives to last Friday’s NEC meeting however turned around to
say that the splinter group did not give it the mandatory 21-day notice
required by the Electoral Act before holding the NEC meeting.

In its reply, the
splinter group accused INEC of “double standard” insisting that the
21-day notice was required only for national conventions and not NEC
meetings.

According to it, only a seven-day notice was required, which it gave.

The ANPP had
earlier in the year, postponed its national convention twice over the
inability to meet the electoral commission’s notice requirement. But
there were reports that the disagreement over the zoning of party
offices, particularly those of chairmen and secretary, actually
informed the postponement.

At its meeting in
Abuja late July, the national caucus of the party, adopted a zoning
formula which will allow the South East geo-political zone to produce
the chairman while the North East zone retains the post of the national
secretary.

However, some
members of the party, including Mr Shekarau’s loyalists, reportedly
expressed dissatisfaction with the formula, which has the backing of
two of the party’s governors, Ali Modu Sheriff of Borno State and
Ibrahim Geidam of Yobe.

The two governors are said to be opposed to the presidential
ambition of Mr Shekarau. They are also said to prefer Harry Akande, a
billionaire from Oyo State as the party’s national chairman in the
South West.

The Ondo State
governor, Olusegun Mimiko yesterday directed the state Head of Service
to immediately start compiling a list of workers who are not computer
literate for retirement.

The governor gave
the directive while declaring open the maiden edition of Council of
Information summit, held in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

Mr Mimiko said the
affected civil servants – from grade level 12 upwards – who have no
computer education, have a December deadline to learn how to use the
computer or face the sack. He said despite all appeals to civil
servants to enroll in computer schools, many of them have failed to do
so.

“Since the world
was now a global technological village, harbouring computer illiterate
as senior bureaucrats will be a disservice to the people of the state,”
he said. “The December deadline for all Grade Level 12 officers in the
state civil service to get computer education or leave the service for
new set of vibrant graduates who are well equipped, stands.

“The Head of
Service is here, and I am now giving him a directive to start compiling
the names of those without computer training. They should leave the
service so that we can inject news bloods into the system.”

The governor stated
that for a nation to be free from massive unemployment, efforts must be
geared towards revolutionising agriculture and technology so emphasis
must be placed on creation of jobs through agriculture, a field now
neglected by Nigerians.

“Specifically, when
youth who are jobless are directed towards development of technology,
the nation will reap from it,” he said, adding “That is why Ondo State
recently trained about one hundred graduates on technology advancement.
These youths after six weeks of training, the youths assembled a panel
of solar powered component which is still functioning today”.

The state
commissioner for Information, Ranti Akerele, said the programme was
organised to ensure that government information are properly managed.
He added that the programme would go a long way in ensuring that
government information managers are exposed to modern day training.

The Guest Speaker,
Yinka Lanihun, an associate professor at the University of Ibadan, said
the world has become a global village where information is disseminated
through the aid of Internet, and urged state governments to make use of
ample opportunities provided by the new technology.

“Government should make use of available opportunities on the
Internet, like facebook, twitters and other sites to inform the
populace about government activities,” Mr Lanihun said.

Action Alliance has declared its support for Gbemisola Saraki to run for the governorship of Kwara State.

Ms Saraki, a serving senator from Kwara State, is a sister of the current governor of the state, Bukola Saraki, who has declared his interest to run for the presidency in the next general elections.

While the party supports Ms Saraki, its chairman, Suleiman Salawu, said they do not support the ambition of her brother, Mr. Saraki.

Mr. Salawu told reporters on Wednesday that Mr. Saraki is
inexperienced for the presidency of Nigeria.

“He is not experienced at all,” he said.

He argued that of the current gubernatorial aspirants in the state, Ms Saraki is the best despite claims that her emergence will enshrine lordship of the Sarki dynasty in the state.

Mr. Salawu claimed that 57 political parties, including his, met and adopted the candidacy of Ms Saraki.

“Ms Saraki is one of the 15 gubernatorial aspirants and for her track record which have become open to the people of Kwara State, she is hereby adopted as our sole candidate under your People’s Democratic Party (PDP) platform for the coming 2011 gubernatorial elections,” Mr. Salawu said in a letter he wrote to the chairman
of PDP, on Monday.

He urged the PDP to also adopt Ms Saraki as their candidate.

Support for Jonathan The party leader also added that his party will not be fielding any candidate in the presidential election and will support the ambition of President Goodluck Jonathan.

The group’s support is an addition to the already 1027 independent groups campaigning for the president to run in the coming election even though he is yet to declare his interest in the job.

The Action Alliance chairman berated other contestants who have expressed their interest in the race saying they are selfish and not good enough for the nation.

The Independent National Electoral Commission has
promised to punish political parties who mock their internal democratic
rules and illicitly substitute candidates after college nominations.

Attahiru Jega, the INEC chairman, said part of the
commission’s approach to delivering credible elections will be to
ensure there is internal democracy in parties.

“If you don’t follow the rules of conducting
primaries, by law we can decide not to accept it,” he told a women
rights advocacy team yesterday.

“We want parties to be serious and respect their own rules.”

The group, led by Women Affairs Minister, Josephine
Anenih and the chairpersons of the Senate and House committee on Women
Affairs, Eme Ekaete and Binta Garba respectively, said it needs the
support of the commission to help scale up women’s participation in
politics nationwide, and part of the bane disallowing that, is the
culture of arbitrary replacement of candidates after primaries, in
which women, the team said, are often the victims.

Not shy to punish

Responding to questions on how that will be tackled,
Mr. Jega said parties breaking their internal basic guidelines will not
escape sanctions.

“We will not be shy to apply the sanctions if and
when it becomes necessary to do so. Anything we are permitted to do by
the law, we will do,” he said.

He said the commission is “working extra hard” and
“examining and re-examining” options driven at improving issues of
logistics vital to curbing the late arrival of election materials at
polling centres, another challenge that has helped mar Nigeria’s polls.

“It is possible to do it and we are applying our mind and energy to
getting that right,” he said. Mr. Jega said he still believes securing
good elections, “is not an impossible task, it is doable and we will do
our best.”