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 call while visiting the Prayer Ground of St. Padre Pio at San Giovanni Rotondo in Italy, where he joined others in seeking divine intervention for Nigeria and its citizens.
Speaking to St. Padre Pio TV/Radio in Italy, the Senate President said the visit was primarily to pray for the country, his family and other Nigerians, particularly at a time when the nation is facing security challenges.
“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.
He added that the group was leaving the prayer ground fulfilled after presenting their intentions and seeking the intercession of St. Padre Pio.
Akpabio described the prayer ground as holy and expressed appreciation for the manner in which it had been preserved, stressing that followers of St. Padre Pio attach deep spiritual significance to the site and believe in his intercession.
The Senate President also recounted what he described as a miraculous experience involving his wife, Mrs Unoma Akpabio, which, according to him, strengthened his faith in the intercession of St. Padre Pio.
He disclosed that his wife spent six months in a coma in a hospital in Germany following complications from an operation and was, according to him, considered to be 98 per cent dead.
Akpabio said that rather than disconnecting her from life support, he prayed to the Virgin Mary and sought the intercession of St. Padre Pio, using Padre Pio’s picture to make the sign of the cross over his wife.
“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,” he said.
Akpabio said the visit to Italy marked his 10th time at the prayer ground and was also an opportunity to give thanks to God for his family and the recovery of his wife.
He recalled that following her discharge from the hospital, his wife took about three months before she could remember his name and those of their 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 honoured St. Padre Pio by giving their son Pio as a baptismal name and establishing the Pio Football Academy in his memory.
According to him, the academy trains children from the age of nine through university level and provides scholarships to children from less privileged backgrounds.
He said the initiative was established as part of the family’s appreciation of St. Padre Pio and his enduring spiritual significance to them.
