The Founder and Lead Pastor of The Transforming Church (TTC), Rev Sam Oye, has said that the church has been able to reach 110 countries across the world in the Prophetic Prayer Hour (PPH) program being held daily by the church.
Addressing newsmen Thursday in Abuja, Rev Oye said that the PPH will soon mark 1,000 days since it was started, with the aim of changing the perception of Nigeria as a country dominated by fraudsters, drug peddlers and other negative vices.
He said that the PPH, which was initially for five days, has been able to change the negative narrative about Nigerians as over 381,000 people key into the prayers every morning from different countries.
He said that, through the PPH, the church has been to change the mindset of youths and women through empowerment and skill acquisition as the church does not dwell on prayers alone.
He said the church has through its program taken young girls, especially prostitutes off the street by setting them up in hairdressing, makeup, baking, tailoring and other skills that will empower them for life.
He said that the PPH has also added to the economy of the country as many people come into the country from other countries because of the programme, thereby lodging in hotels, buying artifacts, among others.
He said: “Prior to our starting the PPH in 2019, countries had bad perception about Nigeria. We were known for drug peddling, prostitution, corruption, among other negative vices. After coming back from the US, I looked at the situation of the economy, insecurity and other things that made many Nigerians despondent and having poor outlook. That was when I got the inspiration to start the PPH.
“You know that when people lose hope, they resort to negative vices. The prayer was supposed to be for five days, but has crossed over 990 days, with thousands of people joining us online from Saudi Arabia, Dubai, US, UK, Canada, Cameroon, South Africa, among other countries. In fact, as of today, we have 381,000 people joining us daily from 110 countries.
“We use the opportunity of the daily prayers to preach transformation messages and to correct the negative impressions people have about our country. We train people across the world to make impact in their different professions as doctors, lawyers, military personnel, among others.
“We use prayers to galvanize people and reorient them on leadership skills, patriotism and nationalism. For the first time in history, we now have something from Nigeria that gives hope to people all over the world. We have people coming into Nigeria from different parts of the world. They buy things, lodge in hotels to add to our economy.”
He added: “19th of this month will make it 1,000 days we started the PPH and it has been impactful because lives have been changed. We have the desire to let people know that Nigerians are not criminals. People who interacted with us know that we have a lot of positive things to offer as a country and I am particularly satisfied, despite financial challenges.
“Regarding challenges, though some people used our names and videos to try and scam people, we have since reported them to the police and DSS. Two people have already been arrested and some have willingly surrendered their pages.
“We also had power supply challenges and internet connection issues, but we have since sorted them out by procuring two generators, solar panels and fibre network, which cost a lot. However, the impact we make are more important than the financial implications of our programmes.”
