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FIRS apologizes over offensive Easter message
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The Federal Inland Revenue Service has tendered an apology to the Christian Association of Nigeria and Nigerians over an Easter message regarded as offensive.
Recall that a flier shared via its X account on Sunday reads, “Jesus paid your debts, not your taxes.”
However, reacting to the FIRS’s Easter post, CAN, the Christian body, demanded a public apology, noting that the message was offensive to the Christian faith.
This post also elicited reactions from Nigerians.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Dare Adekambi, Special Adviser on Media to the FIRS Chairman, Zacch Adedeji said its intention was not to denigrate the message of Easter but to engage taxpayers and remind them of their civic duty.
The service rendered an “unreserved apology” to CAN and Nigerians, adding that the agency had no religion and had no intention to offend adherents of the Christian faith.
The statement read, “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. 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, 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…’ 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. It is an investment in the country’s progress when citizens pay taxes. Once again, we wish to apologize to CAN and Christians who felt offended by the unintended consequence of our message on Easter Sunday”.
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Finally, IGP approves hunger protests across Nigeria
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The Nigerian police has finally approved the planned nationwide protests and outlined conditions for participants.
The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, revealed this on Friday while addressing journalists in Abuja.
He urged all groups planning to participate in the proposed nationwide protest to submit their details to the Commissioners of Police in their respective states.
The police boss said this was to ensure the protest was peaceful.
Egbetokun said, “We acknowledge the constitutional right of Nigerian citizens to peaceful assembly and protest.
“However, in the interest of public safety and order, we urge all groups planning to protest to provide necessary details to the Commissioner of Police in the state where the protest is intended to take place.
“To facilitate a successful and incident-free protest, they should please provide the following information: state the proposed protest routes and assembly points; expected duration of the protest; and names and contact details of protest leaders and organisers.”
The police boss said the information expected from the organisers also include measures to prevent hijacking by criminal elements, as well as key identifiers for possible isolation of potential troublemakers.
By providing the information, he said, the police will be able to deploy adequate personnel and resources to ensure public safety.
He said the police needed to know the specific routes and areas for the protest to avoid conflicts with other events or activities.
Mr Egbetokun said the police will “establish clear communication channels with protest leaders to address any concerns or issues that may arise; minimise the risk of violence, property damage, or other criminal activity.
“We encourage all protesters to cooperate with the police, obey the law, and adhere to global best practices for peaceful assembly to guarantee a safe and successful exercise of their rights.
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Reps North-West Caucus Beg Youths, Citizens In The Region Not To Join Planned Protest
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Reps Applaud FCT Minister, Wike On AICL Improved Revenue, Infrastructure
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