President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has offered prayers for an end to banditry and terrorism in Nigeria, as well as peaceful conduct of the 2027 general elections.
Akpabio made the prayers during a visit to the Prayer Ground of St Padre Pio at St Giovanni Rotondo, Italy.
Speaking with St Padre Pio TV/Radio during the visit, the Senate President said he and other Nigerians had visited the holy site to seek God’s blessings for themselves, their families and the country.
He said, “We are all from Nigeria. We came to offer prayers and get blessings from God for ourselves, families and our dear country that is currently being ravaged by banditry and terrorism.
“We are here on this prayer ground and we are going home fulfilled, that we were able to touch this Holy ground, drop our intentions which he will take to God on our behalf.”
Describing the site as a holy ground, Akpabio said he was impressed by the way it had been preserved, adding that followers of St Padre Pio believed in his intercessions.
“I am very impressed that the place has been well kept. This is a Holy ground. Some people who are here might not even understand the significance of this ground but those of us who are adherents and followers of Pio, believe in his intercessions,” he said.
Akpabio also recounted what he described as a miraculous recovery by his wife, Mrs Unoma Akpabio, after she spent six months in a coma in a hospital in Germany.
According to him, his wife had undergone an operation which went wrong and was subsequently placed on life support.
He said, “My wife was in a coma for six months in a hospital in Germany. She was 98 percent dead. I used the picture of PIO to make a sign of the cross on her, instead of putting-off the life-support machine she was on. She had an operation that went wrong. I cried to Mother Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, and called on PIO to intercede.
“Miraculously, she woke up. That hospital, up till today, is yet to understand what happened. As someone who has experienced the powers in where I am standing, I can understand it more than anyone else.”
Akpabio said the visit was his 10th to the prayer ground, adding that he returned to express gratitude to God and St Padre Pio for what he described as his wife’s recovery.
He said his wife spent another three months after her discharge before she could remember his name and those of their children.
“This is my 10th time here. When my wife was finally discharged from the hospital, she waited for three months before she could remember my name and those of the children. We are here today, to give thanks to God and to thank PIO for always interceding for us,” he said.
The Senate President further disclosed that the family had honoured St Padre Pio by giving their son the baptismal name, Pio.
He added that they had also established the Pio Football Academy, where children from poor families are trained and offered scholarships from the age of nine through university level.
“We honoured PIO by giving our son the baptismal name; PIO. We equally established a big academy which we called PIO Football Academy, where we train and offer scholarships to children of the poor from 9 years up to university level, all in memory of PIO. May his soul rest in perfect peace,” he said.
