ABUJA, Oct 11: At least three dozen athletes were locked out of their hotels in the Nigerian capital Abuja overnight after organisers of the cash-strapped African Games failed to pay the bill, athletes said on Saturday.

With wages unpaid, the telephone operator threatening to cut lines and free tickets failing to pull in the crowds, games organisers COJA were facing mounting financial problems and creditors said it owed millions of dollars.

Two hotels refused to admit the athletes until COJA paid the bills. The Games opened on Oct 4 and end on Oct 18.

“We were stuck out for most of the night. Organisers are negotiating our situation now,” one athlete told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Nearly three dozen athletes were affected, she said.

Nigerian telephone operator Nitel said it had threatened to cut off 6,000 lines at the official Games village, complaining promised payments for their installation had not arrived.

Some 7,000 people working at the games had not been paid five weeks after starting work, COJA officials said. Some workers said they were worried the cash would not be paid at all. Although COJA would not comment on how much it owed, creditors said it ran into millions of dollars.

“There are several financial-related situations we are resolving at the moment. The matter is not out of hand. Games of this nature are never 100 percent smooth,” a COJA official said.

Meanwhile, the government said it would sell off at least 700 cars bought for the Games from BMW to government workers at half price, but it was unclear whether the money would be used to pay the games’ bills.

Games organisers decided to let people in for free after spectators stayed away in the first week, complaining that ticket prices ranging between 50 U.S. cents and $30 were too steep.—Reuters