President Bola Tinubu has sent a delegation to Vatican City for the funeral of Pope Francis, who died on Monday at the age of 88.
A statement on Friday by Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president on information and strategy, said Godswill Akpabio, the senate president, is leading the five-member delegation to the funeral.
Other members of the delegation are Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu, minister of state for foreign affairs; Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria; Matthew Hassan Kukah, archbishop of the Sokoto diocese; and Ignatius Ayua Kaigama, archbishop of the Abuja diocese.
The funeral service of the revered head of the Roman Catholic Church is scheduled to take place on Saturday at the Vatican.
The Nigerian delegation will formally deliver a letter to the acting head of the Vatican conveying Tinubu’s condolences.
On Monday, Tinubu joined the global Christian community in mourning the late pope.
“Pope Francis was a humble servant of God, a tireless champion of the poor, and a guiding light for millions,” Tinubu said.
The president described the pope’s death, which came just after Easter Sunday, as “a sacred return to his Maker at a time of renewed hope for Christians”.
