The North's Education Minister, Mr Martin McGuinness, has warned that a victory for Mr Jeffrey Donaldson's wing of the Ulster Unionist Party at today's UUC meeting could catapult Northern Ireland into a Middle East-type of conflict.
Speaking to reporters in Derry yesterday, he said: "It is not my responsibility to advise Ulster Unionist voters. I don't think they would take kindly to that, but I would point out that I have a responsibility as a Minister in the new Executive to make it absolutely clear that the institutions are working to the benefit of all of our people.
"They need to show wisdom and they need to recognise that the only road for all of us is the road from Good Friday. If we step off that road, I think we are facing a possible Middle East-type of situation, and none of us wants that."