He is one of the reasons why substantial members and pratitioner of tourism sector in Nigeria will not vote for Jonathan
and surprisingly , President Jonathan has continued to dine , winw and prote this poor performing minister of Culture , tourism and National Orientation .
This is one of the Ministers who helped to brand jonathan's government as not cluless but corrupt
This is a Minister for Tourism whose hotel , Mirage Hotel , calabar was found guilty of evading taxes for five years including two years as a minister !
And mirage Hotel was one of his accomplishments which he branded before the Senate when he was being scrutinized for the appointment .
Two years after he was made a minister , the Federal Inland Revenue service , FIRS , found out that our Minister for Tourism hotel's evaded tax for five years ,shut the hotel and forced the management to pay
N210M TAX EVASION: FIRS SET TO SHUT EDEM DUKE’S HOTEL
For evading payment of tax for several years which has now accumulated to over N210 Million,
Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) will shut down The Mirage and Franphina Ltd hotels belonging to Chief Edem Duke, Minister of Culture and Tourism, and a governorship aspirant, Chief Francis Bullem respectively.
FIRS Tax controller in Calabar, Mr. Bitrus Dauda Dikko said both hotels have up to Monday next week to defray, at least, half of the accumulated assessment.
He made the threat when FIRS raided many debtor firms in Calabar to enforce tax payment.
"We have orders from our headquarters Abuja to seal up defaulting firms in the state if after three reminders they still fail to pay. Many of these firms have evaded tax since 2006.
"Few years ago, we had to shut down The Mirage and was only opened when the owner pleaded with an insignificant amount", Dikko said.
Lawyers to The Mirage, Nelson Williams Anwan and Co pleaded that the hotel will not be able to defray the amount but would remit another one hundred thousand Naira, (N100,000.00) having paid One Million Naira last year when they were sealed up.
They requested FIRS to be patient, as Chief Duke has sent assurances to defray substantial part of the old assessment.
Lawyers to a governorship aspirant in the state, Chief Francis Bullem, owner of Franphina Ltd, also appealed against being shut down since they have shown commitment to their earlier undertaking to pay instalmentally.
Other hotels raided were Freddys, Orange Resorts Ltd and Hottschop Events Centre.
Dikko stated that the federal government has instructed FIRS to step up tax enforcement in order not to allow the shortfall in oil revenue to terribly impact against the nation's economy.
As a result, Dikko maintained that tax enforcement will now be done every month in order to keep firms on their toes on the need to pay tax as at when due.
"We don't want to give firms that continually evade taxes in Cross River State and other parts of the country any breathing space as we are on our toes to cover up the gap created by the fall in oil prices."
"We have orders from our headquarters Abuja to seal up defaulting firms in the state if after three reminders they still fail to pay. Many of these firms have evaded tax since 2006.
"Few years ago, we had to shut down The Mirage and was only opened when the owner pleaded with an insignificant amount", Dikko said.
Lawyers to The Mirage, Nelson Williams Anwan and Co pleaded that the hotel will not be able to defray the amount but would remit another one hundred thousand Naira, (N100,000.00) having paid One Million Naira last year when they were sealed up.
They requested FIRS to be patient, as Chief Duke has sent assurances to defray substantial part of the old assessment.
Lawyers to a governorship aspirant in the state, Chief Francis Bullem, owner of Franphina Ltd, also appealed against being shut down since they have shown commitment to their earlier undertaking to pay instalmentally.
Other hotels raided were Freddys, Orange Resorts Ltd and Hottschop Events Centre.
Dikko stated that the federal government has instructed FIRS to step up tax enforcement in order not to allow the shortfall in oil revenue to terribly impact against the nation's economy.
As a result, Dikko maintained that tax enforcement will now be done every month in order to keep firms on their toes on the need to pay tax as at when due.
"We don't want to give firms that continually evade taxes in Cross River State and other parts of the country any breathing space as we are on our toes to cover up the gap created by the fall in oil prices."
President Jonathan’s Minister, Edem Duke’s Hotel Biz In Crisis …How He Harbours Family Illegally In The UK
High Chief Edem Duke, Minister in Charge of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality
Information reliably gathered has it that workers of Mirrage Hotel Calabar owned by current Minister of Culture and Tourism, High Chief Edem Duke embarks on indefinite strike due to none payment of close to a year salary.
Birthed on the eve of Nigerian 99, FIFA U20 World Cup, Mirrage hotel has been harbinger of modern day hospitable hotels in Calabar but torn in the flesh to its teeming workers. It was gathered that the five star hotel has been suffering series of monumental seizures in her 15yrs of existence. Despite high patronage that the hotel enjoys, the management has refused to pay the workers for several months and this has resulted in peaceful demonstration by staffs to express their grievances to both its management and the owner, High Chief Edem Duke.
Findings revealed that the demonstration is not first of its kind as several has been organized but always fell on the deaf ears of the serving Minister in the Executive Council of President Goodluck Jonathan.
In another development, the Minister, High Chief Edem Duke, who is the Minister in Charge of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality has been found to be hiding his family illegally in the United Kingdom for the past two years without rectifying the illegality.
Reliable sources revealed that he moved his family, consisting of his wife, Helen, and three kids to Britain in 2010 under the pretence of seeking medical attention for his last child who was bedevilled by a strange disease
Investigation revealed that the United Kingdom Border Control issued a six-month medical visa for Helen Duke in 2010 for the duration and convalescent period of the child.
After the expiration of the six months, Mrs. Duke renewed her visa with fictitious medical documents from Nigeria which called the attention of the UK Border Control and Immigration to the fact that the child needed to frequent London Hospital for regular check up and also needed to frequent India.
The two years visa and permission to visit the UK without engaging in any job was granted to Mrs Duke who immediately rented an apartment on Oakridge, brought the other two children under the pretence of visiting and fixed herself up in the illegal jobs.
Since the expiration of the two-year visa, Mrs Helen Edem has been staying and working illegally in the UK with his husband paying regular visit as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria not minding the fact that his wife’s circumstance could mar the image of Nigeria and the President of the country.
A family source revealed that High Chief Edem Duke was said to have tried to use his position as the a Minister of the Federal Government in ensuring the legalisation of Helen Duke to achieve permanent stay in the UK but his efforts were thwarted because of the case file at the Immigration and UK Border Control, which indicated that “one Helen Duke was once intercepted, interrogated and delayed for hours at Heathrow for suspicious shuttling between Nigeria and the UK.”
Mrs Duke who was let off by the UK border control after a harrowing grilling has holed up in the UK without valid papers and has been conducting her business as if she had all the permission to stay as free citizen.
Efforts to reach the minister for his reactions proved abortive as all his mobile lines were not reachable
But President Jonathan believed it was a good deed
Also , the same Minister conspired with the DG National Theatre and sold the Historical complex for peanuts .
He cleverly and cheaply bribed the first Lady by decorating him as Tourism Ambassador without madam doing anything to promote Tourism in Nigeria .
The nation was shocked when President Jonathan picked this Minister to be the coordinating Minister for Information after the resignation of Labran Maku !
Since his appointment this man has done nothing spectacular
We are in the time of need when a competent minister of Information and Orientation should be visible but Edem Duke is not there for Jonathan .
