The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has tendered an apology to Christians following uproar over a flier posted on its social media platforms with the headline, “Jesus paid your debts, not your taxes.”
In a statement, FIRS clarified that the message was not intended to denigrate Jesus Christ but was meant to engage taxpayers.
The agency stated its commitment to respecting all religions and vowed to ensure such misinterpretations do not occur in the future.
“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,” the statement from Mr. Dare Adekanmbi, the Special Adviser to FIRS Chairman, Zacch Adedeji, fully read.
It would be recalled that the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) had earlier demanded a retraction of the message and a public apology, expressing concern over its potential to undermine religious harmony and unity in Nigeria.
