Ojulari Replaces Kyari As NNPCL Boss

President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria has sacked the Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, (NNPCL), Mele Kyari.

Tinubu also dissolved its board, removing the Chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure.

This latest development was disclosed on 2nd April 2025 from the State House, Abuja. According to the Press Release, Tinubu invoked his powers under section 59(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 to carry out the sweeping reconstitution, citing the need for “enhanced operational efficiency, restored investor confidence, and a more commercially viable NNPCL”.

Hence, Tinubu approved a new 11-man board, which has Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the Group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as non-executive Chairman.

It's noteworthy that Engr. Ojulari is the erstwhile Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the defunct Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited (SPDC).

The statement said, “Adedapo Segun, who replaced Umaru Isa Ajiya as the chief financial officer last November, has been appointed to the new board by President Tinubu. “Six board members, non-executive directors, represent the country’s geopolitical zones. They are Bello Rabiu, North West, Yusuf Usman, North East, and Babs Omotowa, a former managing director of the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas( NLNG), who represents North Central.

“President Tinubu appointed Austin Avuru as a non-executive director from the South-South, David Ige as a Non-executive director from the South West, and Henry Obih as a non-executive director from the South East. “Mrs Lydia Shehu Jafiya, permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, will represent the ministry on the new board, while Aminu Said Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources”.

The statement further mentioned that all the appointments take effect from April 2, 2025.

Malawi Warns Institutions, Recipients on Honorary Doctoral Degrees, others

The Malawian National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) has issued a strong warning to all indigenous and foreign Institutions on higher education in Malawi.

It clarifies that receiving an honorary degree does not automatically qualify an individual for the title of "Doctor" or "Professor", as the case may be.

In a statement released on March 27, 2025, the NCHE emphasised that honorary degrees are purely symbolic recognitions, hence do not hold the same academic weight as a PhD or a Professorship.

While warning that only accredited and recognized institutions were permitted to award honorary doctoral degree (honoris causa) to distinguished individuals, it cautioned them to desist from recognizing anyone with professorship award.

The council noted an increasing trend where individuals who had been conferred honorary degrees begin to use academic titles without completing the rigorous scholarly processes required for those qualifications.

“An honorary degree is a recognition of one’s contributions to society, but it does not equate to an earned academic qualification,” the statement read.

NCHE further cautioned institutions against misleading the public by allowing honorary degree recipients to assume academic titles. The council stressed that only accredited institutions and duly qualified individuals can rightfully hold and use such titles.

This warning comes amid growing concerns that some individuals in Malawi are falsely portraying themselves as professors or doctors after receiving honorary degrees from unaccredited institutions.

The NCHE has urged all stakeholders to hold hands in upholding the integrity and dignity of higher education in the country.

Meta Launches New Friends' Tab on Facebook

Meta has unveiled a new ‘Friends’ tab on Facebook — rather counterintuitive statement - considering what the platform was originally meant to be.

The new ‘Friends’ tab is aimed at reviving the platform’s original purpose of connecting people with their personal social circles.

The CEO, Mark Zuckerberg announced the development on March 27 2025, and is a part of the social media company’s effort to bring back what it refers to as “OG Facebook”, or the earlier version of the platform that prioritized direct interactions between friends.

It's noteworthy that the feature is now available in the US and Canada.

“We’re introducing a new Facebook Friends tab that makes it easier to connect with your friends,” the social media company said in an official statement.

“Connecting with friends has been a part of Facebook since it was launched. Over the years, Facebook evolved to meet changing needs and created best-in-class experiences across Groups, Video, Marketplace and more, but the magic of friends has fallen away.

"We will be adding several “OG” Facebook experiences throughout the year, beginning with the revamped Friends tab,” it added.

Over the past few years, Facebook has mostly steered away from a social network primarily centered on friends and family to a platform where algorithmically recommended content dominates.

This has seen the introduction of AI-powered recommendations in users’ feeds, surfacing posts from strangers, trending videos, and content from influencers rather than personal connections.

While this approach has helped drive engagement, it has also led to criticism from longtime Facebook users, many of whom have expressed frustration over their feeds being inundated with viral content, advertisements, and recommended posts at the expense of updates from friends.

Now, Meta is seemingly going back to its roots.

The Friends tab is not the first attempt by Meta to reintroduce a more personalized user experience. In 2022, Zuckerberg introduced a dedicated “friends” feed, which allowed users to view posts from personal connections in reverse chronological order.

However, this feature was not prominently placed in the app, making it difficult for users to access and utilize effectively. It remains to be seen whether Meta can leverage this to retain younger users, especially since many of them have migrated TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram.

Facebook, once the go-to platform for social networking, has seen a decline in engagement from Gen Z users, who often perceive the platform as outdated or too focused on older demographics.

The Friends tab replaces what was previously a section dedicated solely to friend requests and “People You May Know” suggestions. With the latest update, this tab has been transformed into a dedicated feed exclusively featuring content from users’ Facebook friends.

Unlike the main feed, which remains heavily influenced by Meta’s content algorithms, this section removes posts from groups, pages, and recommended sources, ensuring that users only see updates from their direct connections.

The content displayed in the Friends tab includes status updates, posts, Stories, Reels, birthday reminders, and friend requests, making it a one-stop destination for friend-related interactions.

Additionally, Meta has provided users with the option to pin the Friends tab to their main navigation bar, allowing for quick and easy access.

This feature can be customized through Settings & Privacy. Hence, users need to go to Settings and click on the Tab Bar.