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President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has visited the Prayer Ground of St. Padre Pio at San Giovanni Rotondo in Italy, where he offered prayers for an end to banditry and terrorism in Nigeria and peaceful conduct of the 2027 general elections.
Akpabio spoke during an interview with St. Padre Pio TV/Radio in Italy, according to a statement signed by Jackson Udom, Special Assistant to the President of the Senate on Media.
He said the delegation visited the prayer ground to seek God’s blessings for themselves, their families and Nigeria.
“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,” Akpabio said.
“We are here on this prayer ground and we are going home fulfilled, that we were able to touch this holy ground and drop our intentions which he will take to God on our behalf.”
Akpabio described the prayer ground as a holy place, saying he was impressed by how well it had been maintained.
“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.
The Senate President also recounted his family’s experience, claiming that St. Pio’s intercession played a role in the recovery of his wife, Unoma Akpabio, after she became critically ill.
According to him, his wife spent six months in a coma at a hospital in Germany after an operation went wrong.
“My wife was in a coma for six months in a hospital in Germany. She was 98 per cent 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,” he said.
“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 added that the visit was his 10th to the prayer ground.
“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.
He added that the family named their son Pio in honour of the saint and established the Pio Football Academy to train and provide scholarships for children from poor backgrounds.
“May his soul rest in perfect peace,” Akpabio said.
