President Bola Tinubu has named Godswill Akpabio, Senate President, as head of the high-powered delegation to Vatican City, for the burial of His Holiness, Pope Francis, on Saturday, April 26.
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Bayo Onanuga, Presidential Spokesman, said the President also named Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu; Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria; an Archbishop, as members of the delegation
Others are Archbishop Matthew Kukah, of Sokoto Diocese, and Archbishop of Abuja Diocese, Archbishop Ignatius Ayua Kaigama.
Pope Francis, the revered head of the Roman Catholic Church, died on Monday, April 21, 2025, at 88, just a day after appearing for Easter Sunday celebrations at the Vatican.
The delegation will formally deliver a letter conveying President Tinubu’s sympathy and condolences on Pope Francis’ passing to the Acting Head of the Vatican.
On Monday, President Tinubu joined the Catholic faithful and Christians worldwide to mourn the death of Pope Francis, who he described as “a humble servant of God, a tireless champion of the poor, and a guiding light for millions.”
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In the condolence message, President Tinubu remarked that Pope Francis’s death, coming just after the celebration of Christ’s resurrection, is a sacred return to his Maker at a time of renewed hope for Christians.
