Gospel singer Nathaniel Bassey has explained why he refused to monetise his viral Hallelujah Challenge on YouTube despite claims that he could have earned over N1 billion from the platform.
Speaking during one of the live sessions of the ongoing challenge, the ‘Imela’ singer said his decision was based on divine instruction.
“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 said.
The gospel minister also lamented that some individuals have created fake accounts to rebroadcast his live sessions in a bid to make money from his ministry.
“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 added.
The Hallelujah Challenge, which began in 2017, is a month-long midnight worship session that gathers thousands of participants across the world on Instagram and YouTube. It has grown into one of the most followed Christian online events in Africa.
Fans have debated the financial potential of the worship programme, with some estimating that monetising it could have generated over N1 billion in ad revenue due to its large global following.
Nathaniel, however, maintained that the Hallelujah Challenge was never about money, saying his choice not to monetise was an act of obedience to God’s leading.
Nathaniel Bassey is known for hit songs such as ‘Onise Iyanu,’ ‘Olowogbogboro’ and ‘You Are God.’
