The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has issued a public apology to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) following uproar over a controversial Easter message posted on social media.
Govima had earlier reported about the controversial message shared on the FIRS’s social media platforms with the caption “Jesus paid your debts, not your taxes,” which drew sharp criticism from Nigerians, particularly Christians, who found it provocative and insensitive.
CAN immediately demanded a public apology from the FIRS, expressing dissatisfaction over the message and urging both public and private institutions to be mindful of religious diversities in the country.
In response, Dare Adekambi, the Special Adviser on Media to the FIRS Chairman issued a statement which reads,“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.’ 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. “
FIRS has clarified that the intention behind the message was not to denigrate the significance of Easter but rather to engage taxpayers and remind them of their civic duty to pay taxes.
