Good morning.

Here are the top 5 stories you should be monitoring today:

So, a number of interesting things have happened between last night and this morning, particularly, in the government.

It turns out the federal government will not be able to complete at least 60% of the capital projects included in its 2017 budget, this year. So, the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, and the Minister for Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma, announced yesterday, their plan to roll over the projects to the 2018 budget proposal.

Adeosun and Udoma stood before the Senate joint committees on finance and appropriations to defend their decision. Here’s what they had to say.

———-

The senate also have their hands full with a new investigation into the Nigeiran Army, over the questionable compulsory retirement of 38 officers in June 2016.

The army had dismissed the officers on the grounds of alleged professional misconduct during the 2015 general elections, as well as involvement in the $2.1 billion arms procurement scandal.

However, a recent petition by one of the affected officers to the senate caused the case to be reopened. Here’s how the process is going, so far.

———-

Still talking about questionable acts, those of Benjamin Ogunbodede, a former Director-General of the Institute of Agriculture Research and Training (IART) Ibadan, has caught up with him.

After being charged to court over an alleged N177 million fraud — one of 17 other counts, the former DG has been found guilty and sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Here’s a summary of all the bewildering allegations made against him.

———-

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army is showing no sign of slowing down in its crackdown on insurgency, and also the activation of its planned exercises across Nigeria.

The army has announced that, starting October 7, it will be launching the second phase of the ‘Operation Crocodile Smile’ in Niger Delta. This is following an announcement on Independence day that it would be launching the same operation in Ogun state.

In this statement, the army explains the motive behind the operation and its duration.

————

Save for a few light-hearted news like Wizkid’s incredible feat over the weekend, the entertainment industry has, lately, been surrounded by controversy. First, the Peter and Paul Okoye twin rivalry which eventually led to their split up, and most recently, an allegation by actress, Carolyn Danjuma, that Davido was involved in the death of  a young man identified as Tagbo.

The accusation, which she made on an Instagram post, has since been deleted, but we have all the gist here.