The management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), on Thursday, ordered the immediate closure of a KFC outlet at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos for allegedly discriminating against the son of former Ogun State Governor, Gbenga Daniel, Debola, who is a person living with disability.
The discrimination against Debola was brought to light following a social media report that he was denied access into the eatery on account of his condition.
The social media report said a ‘Passenger with Reduced Mobility (PRM), Debola Daniel, alleged discriminatory treatment he received at the KFC outlet located at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos”, which spurred the management of FAAN to take the action of shutting down the outlet.
The victim himself had also on Wednesday, taken to his social media pages to lament maltreatment he got from the fast-food outlet at MMIA, with details of the humiliating experience which he said was discriminatory due to his disability.
In the narrative, Debola said he was denied entry into the KFC outlet due to his use of a wheelchair.
“Today I chose KFC – what a colossal mistake. I entered the restaurant with 4 other travel companions consisting of my brothers and wife. The security personnel at KFC, Samuel, greeted me by name as I’ve been there multiple times.
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“Just as we were about to sit, the lady at the till – who was apparently the manager – called out loudly, “NO WHEELCHAIRS ALLOWED”.
“Normally, I would let these things slide but not today. When calmer heads prevailed, my wife and brother – Mayowa – went back and under the guise of buying some food and while audio recording, she questioned the lady again and the lady reiterated her position that the business does not allow wheelchairs into their premises.
“You cannot treat people this way. There are approximately 27 million Nigerians living with some form of disability. That’s over 13% of the country. 1 in 6 people on the planet are disabled. You MUST NOT treat people this way.
“So my question to @kfc @kfcnigeria is simple: this represent your approach to disabled customers or will you be looking into this? Am I not human enough for KFC?” Debola wrote.
A statement issued by FAAN’s Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Mrs Obiageli Orah, stated that the decision to shut down the eatery was in line with the Lagos State law on People with Special Needs, Part C, section 55 of General Provisions on Discrimination which states that, “a person shall not deprive another person of access to any place, vehicle or facility that members of the public are entitled to enter or use on the basis of the disability of that person.”
The statement further explained that the MD/CEO of FAAN, Mrs Olubunmi Kuku, had to intervene swiftly by deploying a management team comprising Orah, the Regional Manager South West, Sunday Ayodele, Ag. General Manager Public Affairs, Mrs Ijeoma Nwosu-Igbo and the International Terminal Manager, to investigate the allegation against KFC.
“It is based on the findings of the team that FAAN has shut down the KFC facility at the MMA, where the incident occurred,” the statement said.