CAN, FIRS disagree over Easter message

THE Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, and the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, yesterday traded words over an Easter message by the revenue service titled ‘Jesus paid your debt, not your taxes.’

While CAN demanded a retraction and public apology of the message, which it claimed was offensive and derogatory” to the Christian faith, the FIRS insisted that its message did not denigrate Jesus Christ.

Recall that in the FIRS’s Easter message by its Chairman, Muhammad Nami, it emphasised the need for Christians to pay their taxes as a form of religious obligation.

This has drawn criticism from a cross section of the Nigerian public including Christians feeling that the revenue agency was insensitive and had religious biases.

In a statement, CAN’s National Director, National Issues and Social Welfare,  Abimbola Ayuba, alleged that FIRS’ Easter message had threatened Nigeria’s unity and undermined respect among diverse religious groups, saying:  “The Easter message by FIRS does not only threaten Nigeria’s delicate unity but also undermines the efforts of many Nigerians working towards fostering mutual respect among diverse religious groups.

“As a nation that prides itself on religious harmony and peaceful coexistence, we are deeply concerned by the recurrence of provocative messages around religious holidays.

“This year, a public institution, which should be the bastion of exemplary conduct, has been implicated in disseminating content that is widely regarded as offensive and derogatory to the Christian faith.

“Such messages not only threaten the delicate fabric of our national unity but also undermine the efforts of countless Nigerians working towards fostering mutual respect among diverse religious groups.”

But the FIRS in a statement by Special Adviser Media to the FIRS chairman, Dare Adekanmbi, maintained that the Easter message did not denigrate Jesus Christ. 

According to him, “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 purposively 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.”