Many dignitaries, especially governors heading to Kano on Monday to attend the Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT) colloquium to commemorate the 69th birthday of the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, were prevented from flying to Kano due to bad weather, Daily Trust has learnt.
Many of the governors were said to have arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA) enroute the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport Kano but the flights couldn’t depart due to bad weather.
It was learnt that some flights that left for the airport from Lagos were diverted to Abuja.
A source at the airport said no commercial flight has operated to Kano as at 5pm on Monday, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded.
The situation is not different with private aircraft, mostly carrying dignitaries to Kano for the 69th birthday colloquium of Tinubu.
Those who could not physically attend the colloquium because of bad weather included Governors of Ekiti (Kayode Fayemi), Lagos (Babajide Sanwo-Olu),Osun (Gboyega Oyetola), Ogun (Dapo Abiodun) and other eminent personalities.
Others were Senators Kashim Shettima, Tokunbo Abiru, Olamilekan Solomon and Bamidele Opeyemi, among others. They joined the event virtually from the Nnamdi Azikwe Airport, Abuja.
An airport official who spoke with our correspondent on the condition of anonymity said the weather has been bad since Sunday, preventing flights from landing at the airport.
“The weather has been terribly hazy since yesterday (Sunday) and as I am talking to you, there has not been any flight today.
“All airlines had to cancel their flights because of the weather. The weather has been seriously bad,” he said.
Another passenger who booked a flight to Kano said he had to go to Kaduna by train yesterday and would continue by road to Zaria and then Kano on Tuesday morning.
Spokesperson of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mrs. Henrietta Yakubu, also confirmed that the weather has been bad in Kano.
