Offensive Easter Message: FIRS Tenders Unreserved Apology
The Federal Inland Revenue Service has apologised to the Christian Association of Nigeria over an Easter post the association described as being provocative.
The Christian body had demanded a public apology from the FIRS after the Service posted a picture on its X (formerly Twitter), #FIRSNigeria.
The post had elicited reactions from Nigerians, particularly Christians.
In a statement by its National Director of National Issues and Social Welfare, Abimbola Ayuba, on Tuesday, CAN asked the FIRS to “offer a public apology for the distress caused”, while also urging private and public institutions to be cognizant of the religious diversities in the country.
In its response on Tuesday night, the service said its intention was not to denigrate the message of Easter but to engage taxpayers and to remind them of their civic duty.
In a statement signed by Dare Adekambi, Special Adviser on Media to the FIRS Chairman, Zacch Adedeji, the FIRS offered its “unreserved apologies” to CAN, adding that the agency had no religion and had no intention to offend adherents of the Christian faith.
“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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