President Bola Tinubu has appointed Senate President Godswill Akpabio as head of a delegation to Vatican City to attend the burial ceremony of His Holiness, Pope Francis, scheduled for Saturday, April 26. Akpabio will lead a five-member delegation, a statement on Friday by the president’s spokesman Bayo Onanuga said. Other members of the delegation are the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria; Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, Archbishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah; and Archbishop of Abuja Diocese, Ignatius Ayau 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.”
In the condolence message, 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.
