Akpabio in Italy, Prays for End to Banditry, Terrorism and Peaceful 2027 Elections
Reported By Facthabournews
President of the Nigerian Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has visited the Prayer Ground of St. Padre Pio in San Giovanni Rotondo, 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 following his visit to the religious site. According to a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Jackson Udom, the Senate President said he and other Nigerians had travelled to the prayer ground to seek God’s blessings for their families and the country.
“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 delegation was leaving the site fulfilled after being able to pray at what he described as a holy ground and present their intentions.
“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,” he said.
Akpabio described the Prayer Ground of St. Padre Pio as a significant place for adherents and followers of the Italian Catholic saint. He said he was impressed by the manner in which the site had been maintained and explained that his personal devotion to Padre Pio had been strengthened by his family’s experience.
“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 the serious health crisis involving his wife, Unoma Akpabio, saying she spent six months in a coma in a hospital in Germany following an operation that, according to his account, went wrong.
Akpabio said his wife was placed on life support and described her condition at the time as being “98 percent dead.” He said he prayed to Mother Mary and sought the intercession of Padre Pio during the difficult period.
“My wife was in a coma for six months in a hospital in Germany. She was 98 percent dead,” Akpabio said.
He further said he used a picture of Padre Pio to make the sign of the cross over his wife while she remained on life support and continued praying for her recovery.
According to Akpabio, his wife eventually regained consciousness, which he described as a miraculous recovery. He said the hospital had been unable to explain what happened.
“Miraculously, she woke up. That hospital, up till today, is yet to understand what happened,” he said, while attributing the experience to his faith and belief in Padre Pio’s intercession.
Akpabio said the visit to San Giovanni Rotondo was his 10th time at the prayer ground and that he had returned in part to give thanks for his wife’s recovery.
He explained that after his wife was discharged from the hospital, it took about three months before she was able to remember his name and those of their children, according to his account.
The Senate President also disclosed that his family had further honoured Padre Pio by giving one of their sons the baptismal name Pio. He said the family also established the Pio Football Academy, where children from disadvantaged backgrounds are trained and offered scholarships from the age of nine through university level.
“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,” he said.
The visit comes as political parties and political actors continue preparations for the 2027 general elections. Akpabio’s stated prayer for peaceful elections comes alongside his call for an end to banditry and terrorism, two security challenges that continue to affect communities in different parts of Nigeria.
During the visit, Akpabio did not announce any new government security programme. His remarks focused on prayer, thanksgiving, his family’s experience and his hopes for peace and stability in Nigeria.
The St. Padre Pio Sanctuary is located in San Giovanni Rotondo, in Italy’s Apulia region, and is associated with the life and religious devotion of Padre Pio of Pietrelcina.
Akpabio’s visit therefore combined a personal expression of faith with prayers for the wider Nigerian situation, particularly security and the peaceful conduct of the country’s next general elections.
