The Lagos-based Chinese Restaurant sealed up by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, owing to its alleged discrimination against Nigerians has declared that the action of the Government agency was in bad faith.
It demanded for unreserved apology from the FCCPC and its Director-General, Babatunde Irukera, who it said scandalized and maligned its operations.
DAILY POST recalls that the restaurant was shut down for allegedly refusing to serve Nigerians.
But in a statement by Ikenna Emewu, Media officer of HUAFEI Nigeria Limited, he said the FCCPC acted in bad taste by not giving a fair hearing to the company.
He declared that “the allegation that we discriminate against and refuse to serve Nigerians or reject their business patronage is totally wrong and an absolute falsehood.
“The claim by the FCCPC is unfounded and just malicious to destroy our business interest in Nigeria.
“For the records, prior to the punitive action, no operative of the agency, a known federal government commission that should follow procedures and know what fair hearing means ever approached the management of the business for response in case it got any complaint about the business place.
“We think the most appropriate thing is that the FCCPC would have written or summoned us to defend whatever allegation against us before sealing up our business premises.”
Emewu further stated that “the name of the business place or restaurant is HUA FEI and the two words in Chinese means CHINA-AFRICA. That is also the business name of the operators of the restaurant. That, in the beginning, implies that the owner of the business, Mr. Liu Changan, popularly known in Nigeria as Chief Ronnie Liu is one that has respect for Africans, Nigerian and all human beings and has no discrimination intention against anybody the reason the company name has AFRICA in it.
“We later heard from the manager of the restaurant that some days ago, some two Nigerians came to the restaurant and asked to be served, after they handed them the menu, they looked through it and left. We concluded they possibly didn’t recognize the food or what to order.
“Just a few days after, the business place was sealed up, without the Commission asking for our response to any allegation against us.
“Gentlemen of the press and all Nigerians, we place it on record that we have Nigerians who are witnesses that have used that same restaurant in the past.
‘We demand unreserved apology “from the FCCPC and its Director-General, Babatunde Irukera who has scandalized and maligned us on the social media through his twitter handle when his agency did not act professionally in sealing up our business premises.
“We insist that it is Mr. Irukera and the FCCPC that should rather bear the right toga of discrimination against us possibly because we are not Nigerians.
“We also affirm that we hold the Nigerian system and the people to high esteem because they have all been kind to us as individuals and our businesses in the past 20 years we have done business and lived in the country.”
