FIRS apologises to Christians, CAN over Easter message

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has apologised to Christians over its Easter message which has stirred controversy among adherents of the faith.

In its Easter message to Christians in Nigeria, the FIRS had shared a flier showing a Point of Sale (PoS) machine with the caption, “Jesus paid your debt, not your taxes”.

The message triggered an outpour of condemnation with the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) leading the way and asking for an apology.

While the post was later deleted, FIRS has now apologised for the move.

“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.”