Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian newspapers:

1. President Muhammadu Buhari, Friday, in Abuja said heavy schedule of the inaugural Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Wednesday held his attention for many hours, keeping him from following the court ruling that validated his victory at the polls. The President, who received All Progressives Congress (APC) party leaders and Progressives Governors’ Forum, at the State House, said he was happy with the outcome of the judgement, urging the governors to join hands in strengthening the party for the future.

2. No fewer than 1,000 members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from Ogun East Senatorial District, loyal to the Buruji Kashamu faction, on Friday, defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The defectors said that they took the decision in a show of solidarity with Gov. Dapo Abiodun. They were received by Mr Tunji Egbetokun, the Senior Special Adviser on Political Matters to the governor, in Abeokuta.

3. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Friday, raised the alarm over alleged delay by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to release the record of its judgment to enable the party and its Presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to file an appeal at the Supreme Court. It also believed that the alleged delay was a calculated attempt to frustrate its plan to appeal at the Supreme Court. The party said that the Court of Appeal is aware that they (PDP and Atiku) have mandatory 14 days to appeal to the Supreme Court, yet it is delaying in releasing a judgment that was read for nine hours and which it wants the public to believe it actually wrote.

4. Nigeria Consul General in Johannesburg, Godwin Adama, on Friday said no Nigerian was arrested in the cause of evacuation of those who voluntarily wished to leave South Africa following xenophobic attacks on them. Earlier reports suggested that the South African authorities were frustrating the evacuation of Nigerians who have completed processes for the first batch of airlift from that country. However, Adama said that no returnee was detained or refused to board flight on Wednesday by South African Authorities. He stated that although some Nigerians had immigration problems, they were quickly fixed.

5. President Muhammadu Buhari is to attend a one-day ECOWAS Heads of State and Government Extraordinary Summit on Counter-Terrorism, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The decision to convene the Summit was reached at the 55th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in Abuja on June 29, 2019. President Buhari will be accompanied by Governors Abubakar Bello, Dapo Abiodun and Okezie Ikpeazu of Niger, Ogun and Abia States respectively; as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, and the Minister of Defence, Major-General Bashir Magashi (retd). Also on the President’s entourage are the National Security Adviser, Maj-General Babagana Monguno (retd) and Director-General, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Amb. Ahmed Rufai Abubakar.

6. Towards finding a lasting solution to the menace of insecurity that had recently pervaded various parts of the south west states, governors within the zone are set to launch a security outfit, code named, ‘Operation Amotekun.’ This was disclosed by Donald Ojogo, the Commissioner for Information in Ondo State, who emphasized that the measure was part of the resolutions reached by the south west governors at the security summit recently held in Ibadan. Ojogo also revealed that the Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, who is the Chairman of the South West Governors’ Forum has procured 20 vans and 120 motorcycles to fortify the operations of the new security outfit which will soon be launched.

7. Flood has submerged 500 farmlands, while also destroying over 37 houses, following a torrential rainfall in four communities under Tarmuwa local government area of Yobe State. Communities affected by the flooding in the local government are: Jumbam, koriyel and Garga. Though no life was reported to have been lost, the disaster had rendered many families homeless. The State Governor, Mai Mala Buni on Friday visited Jumbam, the worst hit community to assess and sympathise with the victims of the disaster.

8. Music superstar, Davido has finally confirmed that his fiancée, Chioma, is pregnant. He made the announcement Friday night on his Instagram account. Davido further revealed that the baby would be a boy. He wrote “#LILOBO”, meaning a little version of him. The news came 24 hours after he proposed to his lover. The ‘Assurance’ crooner announced the proposal on Thursday.

9. Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, on Friday called on Nigerians to stop glorifying and giving undue publicity to criminals and terrorists through social media and propaganda. Buratai made the plea at the Headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri while visiting troops in the Northeast on Friday. He said he had noted with great concern the increased propaganda and undue publicity given to the remnants of the erstwhile Boko Haram terrorists group by some people. He said the development had further boosted the image of the criminal gang thus assuming larger than life status. According to him, it is wrong for any person to eulogise or support murderers, bandits and armed robbers that the known Boko Haram terrorists group has turned into.

10. The Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC) on Friday reviewed and reduced the cost of 2019 pilgrimage fare to the State of Israel from N750,000 to N715,000. The Chairman of the Commission, Rev. Yomi Kasali, revealed this at the signing of the agreement of the 2019 pilgrimage contract between the commission and the service providers that would participate in the Christian pilgrimage exercise to the Holy Land. Kasali explained that the cost of pilgrimage was reduced due to pleas from stakeholders, adding that the country was faced with tough times and so not everyone could afford the initial fee.