The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has issued an apology to the Christian community for a controversial Easter message.
Gatekeepers News reports that the message, which was disseminated to Christians via a flier, depicted a Point of Sale (PoS) machine with a caption that read, “Jesus paid your debt, not your taxes”.
This message sparked widespread criticism, with the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) leading the charge and calling for an apology from FIRS.
Although the message was subsequently removed, the FIRS has now issued an official apology for any offense caused by the message.
“We wish to offer our unreserved apologies for this misinterpretation,” the agency said in a late Tuesday statement by the Special Adviser (Media) to the FIRS Chairman.
But 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 unintended meaning/insinuation being read into the post was not what we were out to communicate as an agency,” the statement read.
“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,” FIRS said.
“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.”
