President of the Senate, Senator 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 San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, where he said he had gone to seek God’s blessings for himself, his family and the country.
Speaking with St. Padre Pio TV/Radio in Italy, the Senate President said the delegation visited the holy ground to pray for Nigeria, which he said was currently being ravaged by banditry and terrorism.
“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,” he said.
Akpabio also prayed for peace during the 2027 elections, saying the visit provided an opportunity for him and others to present their intentions before God.
He described the prayer ground as a holy place and expressed satisfaction with its preservation.
“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.
Recalling a personal experience that strengthened his faith in St. Padre Pio, Akpabio narrated how his wife, Mrs Unoma Akpabio, reportedly recovered after spending six months in a coma in a hospital in Germany.
According to him, his wife had suffered complications following an operation and was placed on life support.
He said he prayed to the Virgin Mary and sought the intercession of St. Padre Pio, using 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,” Akpabio said.
He added that the experience had deepened his faith in St. Padre Pio, noting that his latest visit was his 10th to the prayer ground.
Akpabio said his wife, after being discharged, took another three months before she could remember his name and those of their children.
He said the family had returned to the prayer ground to give thanks to God and appreciate St. Padre Pio for what he described as his continued intercession.
According to him, the family also honoured the saint by giving their son the baptismal name “Pio.”
Akpabio further disclosed that the family established Pio Football Academy, where children from poor backgrounds are trained and offered scholarships from the age of nine through university level.
He said the initiative was established in memory of St. Padre Pio.
“May his soul rest in perfect peace,” he added.
