10/5/2025
The Chinese embassy in Abuja refused to be blamed for Nigerian athletes failed attempt to get visas on time for the WA World Relays, which began Saturday in Guangzhou, China.
Athletics Federation of Nigeria had claimed that unnecessary delays and mishandling of document by the embassy led to the Visas being issued on May 8, 2025, when they needed the documents to travel on May 5, so that the athletes could have five days of rest and acclimatisation before the competition.
But speaking in a statement Saturday the Chinese embassy noted that the athletes’ documents were received on May 6 and they needed five working days to process the documents. The embassy acknowledged receiving a letter from the National Sports Commission on April 24 concerning the visas.
“The Embassy immediately activated the expedited procedure, provided the utmost assistance to the Nigerian applicants, and completed the visa issuance on May 8.
“It should be noted as well that visa issuance is a matter of national sovereignty, and all foreign embassies require applicants to provide the corresponding documents and materials, as well as allow sufficient time for the application process.
“We regret that the Nigerian athletes were unable to participate in the event in China this time, but the statement issued by the AFN is clearly inconsistent with the facts,” the statement added.
Also, Yang Jianxing the Cultural Counsellor at the Chinese embassy said in an interview with Premium Times that the embassy did all they could to have the documents ready.
“We normally require a minimum of five working days to process and inspect visa applications,” he explained. “Unfortunately, due to the May Day holiday from 1-5 May, we lost valuable processing time.”
“We released the visas at 5:10 p.m., and their flight was at around 9 p.m. I think, or earlier,” he said. “The time was extremely tight, but we did everything we could to fast-track the process.
“As a bureau, we need five days, but we shortened the inspection time to try our best to help. If the documents had arrived before the May Day holiday, the situation would have been different,”
