In response to criticism, FIRS apologizes for the inappropriate Easter message

The Christian Association of Nigeria has received an apology from the Federal Inland Revenue Service for a disturbing Easter message that the association found online.

The PUNCH previously revealed that following the Service’s posting of an image with the hashtag #FIRSNigeria on its X (formerly Twitter), the Christian organization sought a public apology from the FIRS.

The service had shared a picture with the caption “Jesus paid your debts, not your taxes.”

Nigerians had responded to the message, especially Christians.
CAN requested that the FIRS “offer a public apology for the distress caused” and that both public and private organizations take into consideration the diversity of religions in the nation. This request was made in a statement released on Tuesday by Abimbola Ayuba, National Director of National Issues and Social Welfare for CAN.

The agency responded on Tuesday night, stating that its goal was to engage taxpayers and remind them of their civic obligation rather than to disparage the Easter message.

The FIRS extended its “unreserved apologies” to CAN in a statement signed by Dare Adekambi, Special Adviser on Media to the FIRS Chairman, Zacch Adedeji. The statement further stated that the agency had no religious affiliation and had no purpose of offending Christians.

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.’ 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. “