Senate President Godswill Akpabio has recounted how his wife, Unoma, regained consciousness after spending six months in a coma at a hospital in Germany.
Akpabio said his wife had undergone an operation that went wrong and was placed on life support in the German hospital.
According to him, doctors considered her condition extremely critical, with her being “98 per cent dead”.
Akpabio shared the account during a visit to the Prayer Ground of St Padre Pio in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, where he said he had gone to give thanks and pray for Nigeria.
Akpabio recalls wife’s six-month coma
The Senate President said he turned to prayer during the difficult period, calling on Mother Mary and seeking the intercession of Italian Catholic priest Pio Pietrelcina, popularly known as Padre Pio.
He said he used a photograph of Padre Pio to make the sign of the cross over his wife while she remained on life support.
“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 turning 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.”
Akpabio said his wife later regained consciousness, a development he described as miraculous.
He added that the hospital had not been able to explain her recovery.
The Senate President did not disclose when the incident occurred or the nature of his wife’s medical condition.
Wife took three months to regain memory
Akpabio said his wife’s recovery continued after she was discharged from hospital.
According to him, she spent another three months before she could remember his name and those of their children.
“This is my 10th time here,” he said, explaining that the visit was also an opportunity for the family to give thanks for her recovery.
“We are here today to give thanks to God and to thank Pio for always interceding for us,” he added.
Family honours Padre Pio
Akpabio said his family later honoured Padre Pio by giving their son the priest’s name as his baptismal name.
He also disclosed that the family established the Pio Football Academy, which provides football training and scholarships for children from low-income families.
“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,” he said.
Akpabio prays for Nigeria
The Senate President said his latest visit to the Italian prayer ground was also aimed at seeking divine intervention for Nigeria.
He said the delegation prayed for the country, their families and a peaceful 2027 election, as well as an end to 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,” Akpabio said.
He described the prayer ground as a holy site and said he was impressed by how it had been maintained.
“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.
