Sterling Bank Apologises, Withdraws Easter Message That Compared Jesus To ‘Agege Bread’

Sterling Bank Plc has apologised to Christians for its Easter message that linked the resurrection of Jesus Christ to ‘Agege Bread.’

The Chief Executive Officer of the Bank, Abubakar Suleiman made the apology in a statement seen by THE WHISTLER.

Suleiman said the message which had no ‘malicious intent’ has also been withdrawn with Immediate effect.

Sterling Bank had on April 17, posted an Easter message which reads “Like Agege Bread, He Rose.”

The bank was largely criticised for being ‘provocative and insensitive.’

The Advertising Practitioner Council of Nigeria (APCON) through its Chief Executive Officer, Dr Olalekan Fadolapo, said the bank will face sanction for the “provocative Easter celebration advertisement”. “

But Abubakar who apologised on behalf of the bank and members of staff admitted that the content failed to fully account for the feelings of billions of Christians all over the world during.

He said, “On behalf of the management and staff of Sterling Bank Plc, I write to tender our unreserved apology to you and members of our nation’s Christian community for our Easter message of 17 April 2022.

“The content of infographics and the message it contained was insensitive and failed to consider the very sober nature of the event being commemorated, being the death of Jesus Christ.

“While the message had no malicious intent, there is no place for content that fails to fully account for the feelings of billions of people all over the world.

“Our honest intent was to join our millions of customers in Nigeria and worldwide to celebrate this solemn event., but our execution fell short on this occasion.

“Our policies are clear on what constitutes acceptable customer communication, and this message should not have been released to our customers. On this occasion, our editorial processes fell short of our policy standards.

“As a responsible institution, we immediately withdraw the offensive material and initiate a review of the circumstances that led to this failure. We will further sensitise our workforce to ensure this unfortunate lapse in judgement never repeats itself.”