Lilian Nneji Releases Highly Favoured After 30 Years

Nigerian gospel minister Lilian Nneji released her first official album, Highly Favoured, on Friday 6 November 2026 — after almost 30 years in gospel music. The album has 17 tracks and is streaming now, including on Spotify.

Thirty years of ministry. Thirty years of singing in churches and on stages across Nigeria. And only now, her very first official album.

Highly Favoured: 17 Tracks of Praise and Worship

Highly Favoured is a celebration of God's faithfulness, goodness, mercy and unfailing love. It blends traditional praise sounds, contemporary gospel and deep worship, made, as Nneji puts it, "for different generations".

"Today, to the glory of God, I am excited to present my very FIRST official album, HIGHLY FAVORED!" she said at the release.

The album features familiar songs alongside new compositions. Fans will recognise "Omeriwo Omeriwo Reprise" and "If E Reach Your Turn", two songs her audiences already know by heart. The new songs include "Do For You", "Wonderful", "Mercy", "I'm Active", "Eze Mu O", "Grateful", "Elohim", "E Get Why", "Daalu", "Ntughari", "Odogwu N'agha", "LNG Praise Medley", "Mi O Le Gbagbe", "Jesus Ke" and "Onwere Ihe Omere Mụ".

Seventeen tracks in all, spanning the full range of her sound: the high-energy praise that fills a room, the quiet worship that brings it to stillness, and everything in between.

Thirty Years of Ministry Before a First Album

For a singer who has spent almost three decades in gospel music, waiting this long for a first official album is unusual. Most artists rush to record. Nneji waited, and the album she has made sounds like the work of someone who has lived evrey song she sings.

The theme runs through the whole record. Highly Favoured is not just a title; it is the story of her life in music, a testimony that God's favour carried her through nearly 30 years of ministry before this moment arrived. Every track circles back to the same truth: faithfulness, goodness, mercy and unfailing love.

That is why the release matters beyond the tracklist. A debut album after 30 years is not a career move. It is a milestone, and the people who have followed her ministry for decades know exactly what it cost to get here.

Africa Gospel Artiste of the Year

The album arrives at the top of a remarkable season for Nneji. Weeks before the release, she was named Africa Gospel Artiste of the Year at the Clima Africa Awards in October 2026.

The award recognised her as one of the continent's leading gospel voices. It also set the stage perfectly: an award-winning worship leader, honoured across Africa, releasing her first official album just weeks later.

Nneji is an award-winning worship leader whose ministry has reached far beyond Nigeria's borders. The Clima Africa honour put a formal stamp on what her audiences already knew, and Highly Favoured is the album that follows it.

Nigerian Gospel Music Keeps Rising

Nneji's album lands in a season when Nigerian gospel music keeps reaching new heights. Dunsin Oyekan is planning a permanent home for Upper Room, as reported in Dunsin Oyekan Plans Permanent Home for Upper Room, and the genre's biggest names keep making news around the world.

Kirk Franklin has just released his first double album, Latest: Kirk Franklin Releases First Double Album I Am What I Am With Davido, GloRilla and Jelly Roll, after announcing it in Kirk Franklin's First Double Album Drops October 30, and his collaboration with Davido was covered in Kirk Franklin and Davido to Release Hope in You on October 30. Forrest Frank is building his own wave too, announcing a new album in Forrest Frank Announces The Jesus Generation Album for December 4 With Lecrae KB and Michael W Smith and a documentary in Forrest Frank Announces The Jesus Generation Documentary for Theaters in 2027, after a sold-out tour covered in Forrest Frank Announces Jesus Generation Album and 2027 Movie After Sold-Out Tour.

The revival behind the music keeps growing as well. A Mississippi church baptized 59 after a revival reached a college campus in Mississippi Church Baptizes 59 After August Revival Reaches College Campus, while a doctor turned evangelist baptized 3,000 in one year in Doctor Turned Evangelist's Tent Revival Baptizes 3,000 in One Year.

More than 200 people dedicated their lives to God at a revival in South Africa in More Than 200 People Dedicate Lives to God at Zion Centre Revival in Dan Tloome South Africa, and 550 people were baptized in the North Sea at Bridlington in UK Revival 2026: 550 People Baptized in the North Sea at Bridlington. Franklin Graham saw pockets of revival after 800 turned to Christ in Manchester in Franklin Graham Sees Pockets of Revival After 800 Turn to Christ in Manchester.

The open question is what Highly Favoured does next. A first album after almost 30 years does not arrive quietly, and the 17 tracks are already streaming to audiences far beyond Nigeria. If the album travels the way her ministry has, the next few weeks will show whether a lifetime of waiting turns into a season of favour that reaches well past her home country.

But the most surprising part of this story is yet to come — keep reading.