Gospel singer and convener of the Hallelujah Challenge, Nathaniel Bassey, has responded to critics questioning why he refused to monetise his YouTube channel despite reports suggesting he could have made over ₦1 billion from it.
Speaking during one of the live sessions of the ongoing Hallelujah Challenge, Bassey said his decision was based on divine direction, not financial logic.
“People are dragging me because I didn’t monetise my YouTube channel for the Hallelujah Challenge. I won’t monetise it — God didn’t tell me to,” he told viewers during the session.
The Imela singer explained that while many see the Challenge as a potential goldmine, he sees it purely as a ministry platform. He added that several people have created fake pages to rebroadcast his live worship sessions and make money from them.
“There are people that now join the Hallelujah Challenge on fake pages. Some criminals take the feed from my page and air it just to make money,” he said.
The Hallelujah Challenge, which started in 2017 as a midnight worship movement on Instagram, has since grown into one of the biggest virtual praise gatherings in Africa, drawing millions of participants from around the world.
Bassey’s comment came after weeks of online debate, with some Nigerians claiming he had lost a potential ₦1 billion in revenue by choosing not to monetise the widely followed live sessions.
Despite the criticism, the gospel minister maintained that the initiative was never meant for profit but to glorify God through collective worship.
