Senate President Godswill Akpabio, has visited the Prayer Ground of St. Padre Pio in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, where he offered prayers for peace in Nigeria, an end to banditry and terrorism, and peaceful general elections in 2027.
Akpabio, who visited the holy site alongside members of his entourage, said they were at the prayer ground to seek God’s blessings for themselves, their families and Nigeria.
Speaking to St. Padre Pio TV/Radio in Italy, the Senate president said the country was currently facing security challenges that required divine intervention.
“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 and drop our intentions, which he will take to God on our behalf,” he said.
Akpabio described the prayer ground as a holy place and expressed his appreciation for the way it had been preserved.
“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.
The Senate President also recounted what he described as a miraculous experience involving his wife, Mrs. Unoma Akpabio, which he attributed to the intercession of St. Padre Pio.
According to Akpabio, his wife spent six months in a hospital in Germany after an operation went wrong and was in a coma for an extended period.
“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 the 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 San Giovanni Rotondo was his 10th, adding that he and his family had continued to visit the site to express their gratitude to God and honour St. Padre Pio.
He recalled that following his wife’s eventual discharge from the hospital, she needed several months 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 also disclosed that the family named one of their sons Pio as a baptismal name in honour of the saint.
He added that the family had established the Pio Football Academy, where children from disadvantaged backgrounds 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 nine years up to university level, all in memory of Pio.
“May his soul rest in perfect peace,” Akpabio said.
