Easter Sunday Message: FIRS Apologizes To CAN Leaders, Other Christians, Says No Disrespect Intended

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has apologized to the leaders and members of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and other Christians in the country for the message posted on social media during the weekend which they had considered as offensive,

Recall that the revenue agency had in a post on X (formerly Twitter) while seeking to  promote tax awareness posted a message that reads ‘Jesus paid your debts, not your taxes’ and added the picture of a Point-of-Sale machine.

Though the FIRS had since taken down the controversial post  the  CAN’s National Director of National Issues and Social Welfare, Abimbola Ayuba, had  however in a statement he issued  on Tuesday  demanded apology from the FRIS on behalf of the Christians in the country while urging President Bola Tinubu,  Minister of Finance,  Mr Wale Edun, and the Department of State Services to note what had happened and guide the FIRS in adhering to only messages that promote unity and peace.

Mr. Dare Adekanmbi, who is  FIRS chairman,  Mr. Zacch  Adedeji’s Special Adviser on  Media , noted in a statement made available to Team@orientactualmags.com on Tuesday night that the agency’s action was well- intentioned while adding that no disrespect was intended.

‘Our attention has been drawn to the statement  issued by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) with regard to the  flyer 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 purposively to denigrate Jesus Christ or detract from the huge sacrifice He had 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 prioritize 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 recognize that the intended message may have been to creatively engage taxpayers…’ We wish to offer our unreserved apologies for this misinterpretation.

As a responsible agency, the FIRS, has no religion and will not bring down any religion or offend the sensibilities of adherents of different 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 apologize to CAN and Christians who felt offended at the unintended consequence of our message on Easter Sunday’ the statement said-.Team@orientactualmags.com  Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08059100286, 09094171980 or get in touch via orientactualmag@gmail.com.  Thank you