- Adedeji: We Mean No Harm…
By Abiola Olawale
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has apologized to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the general public over its controversial Easter message.
The New Diplomat reports that the agency on its official X social media platform, stated: “Jesus paid your debts, not your taxes”. This statement has been generating widespread criticism for seemingly trivializing the Christian faith.
In a swift response, the CAN demanded a public apology from FIRS, highlighting that the message was in poor taste and offensive to Christian doctrines.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by Dare Adekambi, the Special Adviser on Media to FIRS Chairman, Zacch Adedeji, the agency apologized saying it has
no intention of undermining the significance of the Easter celebrations.
The statement 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 government agency, 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.
“The message was our way of uniquely engaging taxpayers, 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,” the FIRS said.
