Kenyan, Ethiopian athletes stranded in Lagos ahead of African Athletics Championships
Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes and officials that had travelled to Nigeria for the 21st African Athletics Championships were stranded at the Lagos’ Murtala Mohammed International Airport on Tuesday, after failing to get a connecting flight to Asaba in Delta State, which will host the games.
The Kenyan delegation of about 80 people arrived in Lagos on Monday, but could not find a flight to Asaba, which lies approximately 500 kilometers away.
The Ethiopian delegation was contemplating using an alternative route that would see them travel on scheduled flights to Enugu and then connect by road to Asaba.
With no scheduled flights to Asaba Airport, organisers have to charter aircraft to ferry delegations from Lagos.
Poor organisation has however seen scores of athletes, officials and journalists stranded in Lagos, with transfers to Asaba being handled on a first-come-first-served basis.
The competition is scheduled to begin on Wednesday at 9AM, with the decathlon’s 100 metres race. A Kenyan is part of the athletes expected to participate in the event.
