Recall that
the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) had taken an offence
on the advert, describing it as provocative and offensive, while it demanded an
apology from FIRS.
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has
apologised to Christians over its Easter message advertisement considered as
trivialising the Christian religious belief.
The tax agency in its Easter season
advertisement, had said, "Jesus paid your debt, not your taxes."
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) had
taken an offence on the advert, describing it as provocative and offensive,
while it demanded an apology from FIRS.
The CAN National Director for National Affairs
and Social Welfare, Commodore Abimbola Ayuba (rtd), had noted that he was aware
that the message had attracted public outrage from the Christian community.
He said, “It is with a profound sense of duty to
national unity and respect for religious sentiments that we address the
controversial statement ‘Jesus paid your debts, not your taxes’ circulated by
the FIRS.
“As a nation that prides itself on religious
harmony and peaceful coexistence, we are deeply concerned by the recurrence of
provocative messages around religious holidays.
“This year, a public institution, which should
be the bastion of exemplary conduct, has been implicated in disseminating
content that is widely regarded as offensive and derogatory to the Christian
faith.
“Such messages not only threaten the delicate
fabric of our national unity but also undermine the efforts of countless
Nigerians working towards fostering mutual respect among diverse religious
groups.
“The Easter period, a time of solemn reflection
and sacred observance for Christians, should not be juxtaposed with civic
obligations in a manner that trivialises or mocks core religious beliefs”.
The post was later deleted by FIRS.
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However, FIRS in a statement signed by Dare
Adekanmbi, Special Adviser (Media) to the FIRS chairman apologised for the
message.
The agency said it did not put out the flier
purposively to denigrate Jesus Christ or detract from the huge sacrifice He
made for humanity.
The statement reads in part; "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 purposively 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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