Nwankwo Kanu accues Portsmouth FC of contempt and disrespect

Former Super Eagles skipper, Nwankwo Kanu Thursday accused Portsmouth FC of England of 'utter contempt and disrespect' and pledged to continue to boycott training .

To drum support for his action against Portsmouth, Kanu has already filed claims running into millions of pounds against the Blues with the English Football League board.

If accepted, funds will come out of crucial distribution payments pinpointed to keep the club alive. Kanu, who is Pompey's longest-serving player, has failed to attend the first three days of pre-season training as he is currently in Nigeria.

His lawyer, Samuel Okoronkwo, claimed Thursday that the 2008 FA Cup hero has taken the stance over his treatment by the club.

Administrator Trevor Birch, has been in prolonged talks regarding a compromise agreement to settle the remaining 12 months of the 35-year-old's contract.

He has not played for the Blues since October 2011 and Pompey are desperate to drive down the £9.5m wage bill and stave off the threat of liquidation.

However, the situation has come to a head after Kanu failed to turn up for pre-season training on Monday. On Tuesday evening his attorney lodged a claim with the Football League under the football creditors' ruling.

And Okoronkwo insists his client is entitled to the money, which is earmarked to keep the club running through administration.

He said: 'I have been given authorisation to speak on Mr Kanu's behalf. He feels very aggrieved.

"He has regrettably been forced to serve the requisite notices of breaches of contract by the club, both historically and presently.

"This naturally leads to the Football League.

"He has been playing and scoring goals for Portsmouth for six years, sometimes playing through injury. Now he is being treated like this.

"He has lost millions of pounds since 2006 through genuine contractual obligations but has been prepared to wait.

"Now they are threatening breach of contract.

"Mr Trevor Birch attended my office in May and said he did not want Kanu to stay at the club, which I found surprising, especially having waived millions of pounds he is entitled to.

"Then I received an e-mail on Saturday stating if he did not turn up for training on Monday he would be held in breach of contract.

"I had already told the club he was doing a job for the Nigerian national team so was unable to.

"Mr Birch also wanted a compromise agreement to be reached on the Sunday. That was entirely unrealistic.

"The club have not shown themselves to be worthy to reach any agreement with him through the utter contempt and disrespect they have shown.

"Kanu has been willing and able to play and trains every day.

"But he finds himself unable to return to the club. He wants to be treated respectfully and, on that basis, cannot return to training,' claimed Kanu's attorney Thursday.

This Day

Nigeria ranks highest in the world in examination malpractice index

The Director General National Orientation Agency (NOA) Mr. Mike Omeri on Tuesday said that Nigeria has been ranked number one in the world's examination malpractice index. Speaking in Lokoja during the launch of campaign to raise integrity standard in the nation's educational system organized by the NOA in collaboration with Exam Ethics Marshals International, he said the situation has led to the production of half baked graduates and collapse of the education sector. According to him, report on examination malpractice in the country contains very disturbing information as it puts the average annual examination malpractice index at 12 per cent.

"In May/June school certificate examination conducted by NECO, a total of 615, 010 cases of malpractice were recorded while 439,529 were recorded in the 2011 examination. The phenomenon has graduated into a highly complex and organized crime perpetuated by private and community owned schools," he said.

Earlier, the Chief Executive Secretary of the National University Commission, Prof. Julius Okogie, said handwork, value and integrity have been eroded in the nation's educational system, lamenting that emphasis is being placed on paper qualification instead of productivity.

Prof. Okogie, who was represented by Prof. Nancy Abey, blamed parents and teachers for the trend. Governor Idris Wada in speech assured that he would work hard to eliminate examination malpractice in Kogi State, but pointed out that it requires concerted efforts from all stakeholders.

Daily Trust

Video report - At least 95 dead in oil tanker explosion in Nigeria

A desperate rush for free fuel has resulted in the deaths of of at least 100 people in Southern Nigeria. A crowd had gathered around a petrol tanker that overturned in the Niger delta. That's when it caught fire and blew up. Women and children are among the dead.

Al Jazeera

Lufthansa suspends services to Air Nigeria

Perhaps taking a cue from General Electric Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS) which withdrew its four aircraft last week, Luftahnsa Technik was Tuesday alleged to have terminated its aircraft spare parts and aircraft component pool which was domiciled in Lagos for the use of Nigeria's major carrier, Air Nigeria.

Before the withdrawal of its services, Lufthansa Technik was the leading provider of Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) support to the airline.

The aircraft maintenance company was servicing the airline's Boeing and Embraer aircraft.

The implication of this is that when the airline, which was grounded by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) about two weeks ago, resumes operation, it would face difficulty in getting spares to service any of its aircraft on ground (AOG) as there would not be readily available aircraft parts for minor repairs.

In fact, an inside source told THISDAY Tuesday in Lagos that with the withdrawal of Lufthansa Technik, the airline may not even resume operation after meeting the laid out conditions by NCAA without approved technical team.

"This is because they cannot carry out any maintenance

of their aircraft. In the first place, NCAA will not even give them approval to start operation without maintenance engineers and they cannot in the time being put up the required engineers to have their own technical team, and where will you even get those engineers?"

Reacting to the report, Air Nigeria denied that the aircraft maintenance company has severed its services to the airline, insisting that Lufthansa Technik was still providing spares to the airline. According to the head of communication of Air Nigeria, Sam Ogbogoro, "Sequel to the recent reduction in our capacity following the return (repossession) of four Boeing B737-300 aircraft in our fleet, we are currently in discussions with Lufthansa Technik to rationalise aircraft spares in alignment with the current fleet size"

Meanwhile, air fares continue to rise for local destinations because only few airlines are still operating as the lull that was observed after the crash of Dana Air flight on June 3, 2012 has given way to an upsurge in passenger movement in many of the nation's airports, especially in Abuja and Lagos airports.

Industry observers said that if the present number of airlines continues to operate in the next few months that fares might rise as high as N50, 000.00 for one hour's flight during the peak period which begins from September.

This Day

20,000 doctors leave Nigeria for better opportunities in other countries

The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) yesterday revealed that over 20, 000 medical personnel from Nigeria have migrated to foreign countries to seek greener pastures and better working conditions. The council also said that Nigeria is one of the highest exporters of health workers, doctors and nurses with about 4,000 to the United States of America.

National Chairman, Association of Public Health Practitioners of Nigeria, Dr Obehi Okojie, stated this during the induction ceremony of 103 graduates of foreign medical institutions and Igbinedion University Okada.

Daily Trust