Prominent Nigerian pastor Jerry Eze has apologised to people who were unable to enter Saturday’s NSPPD prayer conference at Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium.
The free event, organised by Streams of Joy International church, brought thousands of Christians together for a day of prayer and worship.
The 74,000-capacity stadium was filled with worshippers, with gospel artists including Mercy Chinwo, Dunsin Oyekan, Sunmisola Agbebi and Kaestrings also performing.
In a video posted on social media on Monday, the Pastor Eze apologised to what he described as “tens of thousands” of people who were turned away.
He said some had travelled from as far away as Australia, North Macedonia and Sweden to attend the conference.
“I want to sincerely, from the depth of my heart, apologise, apologise to the tens of thousands of people who were turned back.”
Pastor Eze said the situation was beyond his control and that of Streams of Joy, but said he was sorry for the disappointment caused.
He also acknowledged social media posts from people who had been unable to enter the stadium. “I see your pain as you post about it on social media and you talk about it wherever you go to. I want to say I'm sorry. Please forgive us.”
One person commented: "I was so heartbroken...We went so far to park, paid for parking and still didn’t get to enter. Long story short, I cried my eyes out, got home and just connected online. But I know I received my blessings too."
Another wrote: "The uber guy that took us to the stadium said the crowd is too much that we should used Wembley stadium next time. He also mentioned that they have never seen such crowd and traffic before not even during football games..."
Pastor Eze said organisers would take steps to ensure the same situation did not happen again and added that organisers would have done everything possible if they had known in advance that so many people would be unable to enter.
The NSPPD UK Prayer Conference required advance registration. The number of people who were turned away has not been independently confirmed.
Premier Christian News has contacted representatives of the stadium for comment and clarification on the circumstances surrounding people being turned away from the event.
The conference follows major NSPPD gatherings in London, including an event at Twickenham Stadium in 2024 which attracted an estimated 80,000 people.
