FIRS begs CAN over ‘provocative’ Easter message

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has apologised to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) over its “provocative” Easter message.

FIRS in an Easter message on Monday shared a picture with the caption: “Jesus paid your debts, not your taxes” on its X platform.

Irked by the development, CAN in a statement issued on Tuesday by its National Director, National Issues and Social Welfare, Commodore Abimbola Ayuba (retd), demanded a public apology from the agency over the social media post.

It added that FIRS’ Easter message had threatened Nigeria’s unity and undermined respect among diverse religious groups in the country.

However, in a statement signed by Dare Adekambi, Special Adviser on Media to the FIRS Chairman, Zaccheus Adedeji, the agency apologised to CAN over the controversy generated by the message.

The statement read: “Our attention has been drawn to a statement by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) about a flier posted on our social media platforms with the headline ‘Jesus paid your debts, not your taxes.’

READ ALSO: CAN demands apology from FIRS over ‘offensive’ Easter message

“As a responsible agency of government, we would like to say we did not put out the flier purposely to denigrate Jesus Christ or detract from the huge sacrifice He made for humanity. We are acutely aware that the essence of the Easter period is to celebrate this huge sacrifice.

“The message was our way of uniquely engaging taxpayers and to remind them of the need to prioritise payment of their taxes as a civic obligation.

“Yes, we would say the message ruffled feathers in some circles. The unintended meaning/insinuation being read into the post was not what we were out to communicate as an agency.

“Good a thing, this much is acknowledged by CAN in its statement wherein it said ‘We recognise that the intended message may have been to creatively engage taxpayers…’ We wish to offer our unreserved apologies for this misinterpretation.

“FIRS, as a responsible agency, has no religion and will not bring down any religion or offend the sensibilities of adherents of various faiths in the country.

“Our goal is to assess, collect, and account for revenue for the wellbeing of the Federation. We believe it is an investment in the progress of the country when citizens pay their taxes. Once again, we wish to apologise to CAN and Christians, who felt offended at the unintended consequence of our message on Easter Sunday. “

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