The owner of an Abuja-based Chinese grocery that has been chastised for excluding Nigerians and restricting admission to Chinese nationals has denied charges that her establishment is only for a certain group of people.
She further highlighted that her firm is not a supermarket, but rather a retail shop dedicated to providing the basic requirements of her community.
Liu Bei revealed this in a signed statement given to PUNCH Online in Chinese and English on Tuesday, stating that she was afraid seeing so many strangers in front of her store.
Her outburst came after the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission issued a summons and threatened penalty against her store after it was sealed on Monday.
According to The PUNCH, the supermarket has introduced a contentious policy that restricts admission to Chinese nationals alone, prohibiting Nigerians from shopping there.
This policy drew considerable outcry across numerous social media channels, as Nigerians expressed their dissatisfaction with the unequal treatment.
However, in her defense, Bei maintained that she sold to residents, workers, and visitors who came to her store after visiting the office building, regardless of national origin.
According to her, the little retail business is not a supermarket like other grocery stores, and she intends to close it after decreasing operations in December 2023.
The statement read in full:
“My name is Liu Bei. I watched PUNCH’s news about Chinese supermarkets not allowing Nigerians to enter for shopping.
“Now there are a lot of people in front of my store who I don’t know where they come from. I feel scared and I want to explain something.
“My shop is in the Royal Choice Estate, Airport Road, Abuja. It’s a small retail shop, not a supermarket like SHOPRITE. I mainly sell things to community residents and people who work here. Sometimes some visitors will come to my store to buy something after visiting the company In the office building, regardless of nationality.
She added that due to certain reasons not mentioned, she had downsized operations in December 2023, to shut down the store in due time.
She went further to state that she does not discriminate against Nigerians, and she apologised for the misunderstanding that ensued between the visitor and the security guard.
Bei said, “Since December 2023, I downsized the operations of my shop and have been planning to close.
“I don’t discriminate against any Nigerians, I even have several local employees in my store and we have a good relationship. However, for safety reasons, the community has requirements for visitors, so not everyone can enter the community directly.
“I feel sorry for the altercation between the security guard and the visitor in the video. Two Nigerians did come to my store that day to buy something, and I sold to them.”
