NECSEF’s aspiration is to be the one stop organisation and preferred gateway for conducting business in Nigeria by Egyptians, providing trust and the ability to engage with highly influential people who can provide access and market intelligence into every aspect of the Nigerian market.

NECSEF organised its first conference in collaboration with Nigeria Embassy in Cairo, and strategic partners Egyptian African Businessmen’s Association (EABA) on the 10^th – 12^th October 2022 to a roaring success.

The conference titled Nigeria – Egypt Trade Conference & B2B Meeting attracted over 300 high level business leaders and government officials. The event took place at the conference halls of the stunning St. Regis hotel Almasa, in the new federal capital territory, Cairo Egypt.

The idea for the conference according to Mr. Mahmood Ahmadu, chairman of NECSEF and OIS, the main organisers, was to strengthen bilateral trade relations between the two largest African economies, Nigeria and Egypt with the aspiration to boost trade from the current of circa $180 million US.

The NECSEF chairman Mr Ahmadu and Dr Yousry El Sharkawi EABA chairman made a joint announcement that an agreement of $30 million dollars was signed during the conference as part of strengthening bilateral relations.

Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country with over 225 million people, and Egypt is the third most populous country in Africa with over 104 million people. Egypt enjoys a mixed economy strong in tourism, agriculture, construction, fossil fuels with an emerging ICT sector.

Nigeria on the other hand has a mixed economy focused upon petroleum, and a growing agriculture sector, it also has an emerging market with expanding technology, service, financial and communications sectors.

There is great demand in Nigeria for Egyptian products and it’s really a promising market for Egyptian investments with some great Egyptian companies already operating in Nigeria.

A great percentage of Nigeria’s exports to Egypt are petroleum and gas products followed by agricultural commodities.

The objectives of the conference in part was to reach a new and viable vision with a view of mobilizing the private sector, civil society and business community of both countries to increase trade and actively participate in African development.

The well attended event was spaced out over three days; with the first day being the main conference with many high level speakers, attended by government leaders, senior members of several diplomatic missions, and leaders from the business sector.

The second day was a highly interactive B2B session, matchmaking several sectors with hundreds of the delegates where Nigerian and Egyptian business people participated in pitching and introducing their various businesses.

The third day was all about tours and external visits to some of Egypt’s most iconic centers. Delegates chose from one of two tour options, either a visit to the world famous Suez Canal Economic Zone, an innovative and self-sustaining industrial development and commercial hub, or the world class International Medical Center, a military hospital that is one of the largest in the Middle East.

The dignitaries who graced the event included Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, Minister of Water Resources Suleiman Adamu, Minister of State Works and Housing, Minister of State Industry, Trade and Investment, Ambassador Mariam Katagum, H.E Nura Abba Rimi, Nigerian Ambassor in Egypt, Mr Anthony Nwachukwu, Vice President of Innovate 1 Pay, Mr Babatunde Irukera, CEO Federal Competition & Consumer Protection, Mr Khalifa Abdullahi, Chairman KK Kingdom Group, Dr Kassim Gidado from Nigeria Arab Gulf Chamber of Commerce.

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Also in attendance was Dr Yousry El-Sharkawi, chairman Egyptian African Businessmen’s Association (EABA) Walid Gamal El Din, Chairman of the General Authority Economic Zone, Suez Canal, Dr Sherif El-Gabaly, chairman African Affairs, Egyptian House of Representatives, Eng. Ahmed Sameer,

El-Gabaly, chairman African Affairs, Egyptian House of Representatives, Eng. Ahmed Sameer,

Egyptian Ministry of Trade & Industry, Mr Walid Jamal Eldin, chairman of the Egyptian Nigeria Business Council among many others.

There were senior representatives from Nigeria Export Promotion Council, Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission, Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Export & Import Bank (Afreximbank), PWC, AFDB and others.

Source – https://www.vanguardngr.com/

Source –

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She died peacefully on Thursday afternoon at her Scottish estate, where she had spent much of the summer.

The Queen came to the throne in 1952 and witnessed enormous social change.

Her son King Charles III said the death of his beloved mother was a “moment of great sadness” for him and his family and that her loss would be “deeply felt” around the world.

He said: “We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished sovereign and a much-loved mother.

“I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.”

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During the coming period of mourning, he said he and his family would be “comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which the Queen was so widely held”.

The King and his wife, Camilla, now Queen Consort, will return to London on Friday, Buckingham Palace said. He is expected to address the nation on Friday.

Senior royals had gathered at Balmoral after the Queen’s doctors became concerned about her health earlier in the day.

All the Queen’s children travelled to Balmoral, near Aberdeen, after doctors placed the Queen under medical supervision.

Her grandson and now heir to the throne, Prince William, and his brother, Prince Harry, also gathered there.

Prime Minister Liz Truss, who was appointed by the Queen on Tuesday, said the monarch was the rock on which modern Britain was built, who had “provided us with the stability and strength that we needed”.

Speaking about the new King, she said: “We offer him our loyalty and devotion, just as his mother devoted so much, to so many, for so long.

“And with the passing of the second Elizabethan age, we usher in a new era in the magnificent history of our great country, exactly as Her Majesty would have wished, by saying the words ‘God save the King’.”

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby – spiritual leader to the Church of England of which the monarch is supreme governor – expressed his “profound sadness”.

He said his “prayers are with the King and the Royal Family”.

Queen Elizabeth II’s tenure as head of state spanned post-war austerity, the transition from empire to Commonwealth, the end of the Cold War and the UK’s entry into – and withdrawal from – the European Union.

Her reign spanned 15 prime ministers starting with Winston Churchill, born in 1874, and including Ms Truss, born 101 years later in 1975.

She held weekly audiences with her prime minister throughout her reign.

At Buckingham Palace in London, crowds awaiting updates on the Queen’s condition began crying as they heard of her death.

The union flag on top of the palace was lowered to half-mast at 18:30 BST and an official notice announcing the death was posted outside.

On the Queen’s death, Prince William and his wife, Catherine, became the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Cornwall.

Source https://www.bbc.co.uk/

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That was a 1.2% higher level than a year ago and 0.6% higher than in the previous quarter.

On the claimant count of people claiming unemployment benefits, unemployment hit 2.6 million in December.

In the three months to November, there was a sharp increase in unemployment while the employment rate continued to fall, the ONS said. 

During the period, 398,000 fewer people had jobs – the largest increase since December 2009, during the global financial crisis.

The proportion of the workforce on furlough increased to 16% during November but fell back to 11% by the end of December, possibly due to seasonal increases in work for the Christmas period.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has predicted unemployment will peak at 7.5% in the second quarter of this year.

James Reed, chairman of the Reed recruitment giant, said: “Today’s ONS statistics support the Chancellor’s November prediction that the economic emergency has only just begun.”

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He said, however, that Reed had seen a pick up in companies hiring recently. Last week it was up 4% on a year ago, with IT, telecoms, education and social care seeing some growth.

There was also good news from the ONS as it reported pay growth of an annual 3.6%, bouncing back from the 1.3% pay cuts seen in April to June.

Source – https://www.standard.co.uk/

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Some 24 firms said that they did not have any plans in place to return workers to the office.

However, 20 have opened their offices for staff unable to work from home.

It comes as many employees return to work from the summer holidays with the reality of a prolonged period of home working becoming increasingly likely.

The BBC questioned 50 big employers ranging from banks to retailers to get a sense of when they expected to ask employees to return to the office.

One of the main reasons given for the lack of a substantial return was that firms could not see a way of accommodating large numbers of staff while social distancing regulations were still in place.

Many companies said they were offering choice and flexibility to those who want to return, particularly in the banking and finance sectors.

A few firms have already announced they have no plans to return to the office until late autumn, and Facebook has said it does not plan a return of employees until July 2021.

Some smaller businesses are deciding to abandon their offices altogether. Tara Tomes runs a PR agency with an office in the heart of Birmingham’s business district.

Her team of eight cannot fit in the space they have if they are to obey social distancing guidelines and she will not be renewing the office lease in September.

“I personally don’t want to force my team back onto public transport,” she told the BBC.

“Not having four walls around us won’t change the dynamic or culture of the team. If anything it will make us more pioneering in the way the world of work is going.”

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She said that the money saved on rent and utilities and the time spent not commuting were other benefits to giving up the office.

Continued Reading – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53901310

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Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden told the House of Commons of the decision.

It follows sanctions imposed by Washington, which claims the firm poses a national security threat – something Huawei denies.

Mr Dowden said the move would delay the country’s 5G rollout by a year.

The technology promises faster internet speeds and the capacity to support more wireless devices, which should be a boon to everything from mobile gaming to higher-quality video streams, and even in time driverless cars that talk to each other. 5G connections are already available in dozens of UK cities and towns, but coverage can be sparse.

Mr Dowden added that the cumulative cost of the moves when coupled with earlier restrictions announced against Huawei would be up to £2bn.

“This has not been an easy decision, but it is the right one for the UK telecoms networks, for our national security and our economy, both now and indeed in the long run,” he said.

Because the US sanctions only affect future equipment, the government has been advised there is no security justification for removing 2G, 3G and 4G equipment supplied by Huawei.

However, when swapping out the company’s masts, networks are likely to switch to a different vendor to provide the earlier-generation services.

Huawei said the move was: “Bad news for anyone in the UK with a mobile phone” and threatened to “move Britain into the digital slow lane, push up bills and deepen the digital divide.”

The action, however, does not affect Huawei’s ability to sell its smartphones to consumers or how they will run.

Broadband switch

New restrictions will also apply to use of the company’s broadband kit.

Operators are being told they should “transition away” from purchasing new Huawei equipment for use in full-fibre networks, ideally within the next two years.

Mr Dowden said the government would “embark on a short technical consultation” with industry leaders about this.

He explained that the UK needed to avoid becoming dependent on Nokia – which is currently the only other supplier used for some equipment – and he wanted to avoid “unnecessary delays” to the government’s gigabit-for-all by 2025 pledge.

BT’s Openreach division told the BBC it had in fact recently struck a deal to buy full-fibre network kit from a new supplier – the US firm Adtran – but first deliveries would only start in 2021.

Chip concerns

The UK last reviewed Huawei’s role in its telecoms infrastructure in January, when it was decided to let the firm remain a supplier but introduced a cap on its market share.

But in May the US introduced new sanctions designed to disrupt Huawei’s ability to get its own chips manufactured. The Trump administration claims that Huawei provides a gateway for China to spy on and potentially attack countries that use its equipment, suggestions the company strongly rejects.

The sanctions led security officials to conclude they could no longer assure the security of its products if the company had to start sourcing chips from third-parties for use in its equipment.

The minister cited a review carried out by GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre as being the motivation for the changes.

The centre has said Huawei products adapted to use third-party chips would be “likely to suffer more security and reliability problems”.

But other political considerations are also likely to have also come into play, including the UK’s desire to strike a trade deal with the US, and growing tensions with China over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak and its treatment of Hong Kong.

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Prince Harry and Meghan will no longer use their HRH status and will no longer represent the Queen, they will also repay the £2.4million of the taxpayers’ money spent on refurbishing Frogmore Cottage, where they will stay while in the UK.

While it is an exciting time for them both, royal fans recognise that Harry has given up everything he has ever known for his new life, including his role in the royal family and his life in the UK, and many took to social media to send messages of support to him upon hearing the news

On Twitter, many people had their say, with one user writing: “Prince Harry giving up being a Prince for his woman is the most romantic thing I’ve seen happen outside of fiction,” while another wrote: “Harry is literally giving up everything to be with his wife. Hopefully, it’s worth it and they will live happily ever after.” A third added: “If Harry is leaving Britain, then he is doing it for love and he will be giving up certain things but he seems very happy.”

A fourth person commented: “But come to think of it, this lady gave up a whole lot for her marriage to be part of the royal family. if Harry is so giving up something for Meghan’s happiness, so be it.”

“The power of love. I mean Harry is doing what has never been done before. Giving up his title, the palace, everything he has ever known for Meghan and Archie. It’s groundbreaking,” a fifth person tweeted.

The Queen’s full statement on Saturday night read: “Following many months of conversations and more recent discussions, I am pleased that together we have found a constructive and supportive way forward for my grandson and his family.

“Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much-loved members of my family. I recognise the challenges they have experienced as a result of intense scrutiny over the last two years and support their wish for a more independent life.

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I want to thank them for all their dedicated work across this country, the Commonwealth and beyond, and am particularly proud of how Meghan has so quickly become one of the family. It is my whole family’s hope that today’s agreement allows them to start building a happy and peaceful new life.”
Source – https://www.hellomagazine.com/

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At his latest visit this week, he saved £25.55 on his shop – two-thirds of the normal price – scooping up everything from cut-price sausage and bean pasties to doughnuts and scones.

Shaun says the pasties were on a buy two packs for £2 offer, meaning you get four for that price.

Normally they cost £1.40 per pasty, which would be £5.60 for four – so that’s a £3.60 saving.

The doughnuts, meanwhile, were four for £1 compared to £1 each in a regular Greggs store, saving Shaun £3.

While cheese scones were being sold at half price in packs of four for 75p when they normally cost £1.50 per four-pack.

Even Greggs’ new Halloween gingerbread biscuit-shaped bats were on the menu at the outlet store, with Shaun bagging a five-pack of these for just 75p.

In regular stores these cost 85p each so five would cost £4.25 saving Shaun £3.50.

Shaun, says he bags the discounts all day long but recommends going early if you can.

He told The Sun: “Greggs’ outlet stores are the best shops. I find the discounted prices are available all day – the offers aren’t at any set times.

“But it’s better to go as early as you can as more stuff is there.”

Shaun, who is self-employed, loves bagging bargains and also runs the UK Coupons Deals & Cashback Facebook group. He told The Sun earlier this year that he saves £1,000 a year by hunting out price errors.

But others can get their hands on Greggs’ outlet goodies too. There are ten outlets located around the UK in major cities including Birmingham, Leeds and Cardiff.

Sadly, most are in the north of England and in Wales and the majority are around the Newcastle area.

So you won’t find them in the south of the country or in Scotland or Northern Ireland.

See the box above for the full list of locations, including addresses.

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Abulokwe received her OBE for Services to Business. Founder and CEO of MicroMax Consulting, she has introduced an innovative form of governance for the digital world. She has had an extensive career over the last 25 years, driving innovative technology and business transformation initiatives for some of the largest multinational digital transformation organisations.
People-centric governance is Abulokwe’s passion. “Put people first and the governance follows,” she says. She posits that governance should invariably be about winning the hearts and minds of employees, and about fostering a culture of accountability.

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A dual British/Nigerian national, Abulokwe was born in London to parents from Nigeria and Jamaica. she grew up in Nigeria’s south-eastern city of Port Harcourt, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Port Harcourt in 1991. She returned to her country of birth that same year to pursue her master’s degree at the University of London and later a doctorate in business administration from Cranfield University School of Management.

Abulokwe is one of the first black female professionals to sit on the board of a multi-national tech company in the UK. She has received many distinguished awards. Highly regarded in the field of tech enablement and governance, she was recently ranked number 4 of the Financial Times Top 100 Black, Asian, Minority, Ethnic (BAME) Tech Leaders for 2018. She was named as a finalist for Governance Professional of the Year 2018 Award by the Governance Institute. She was also named in the 2019 Powerlist 100 most influential black business leaders. She was 9th overall in the 2018 and 2019 Financial Times EMpower Ethnic Minority Executives and Role Models List. And she was listed among the top 100 influential people of African and Caribbean origin in the UK. Forbes Magazine has interviewed her about boardroom diversity.

Abulokwe describes herself as a proud export of Nigeria and Jamaica, her parents’ countries of origin and hers equally. She has spoken at many conferences in Nigeria, among other countries, and has featured on prime-time television in Nigeria. She is equally passionate about mentoring and empowering women.

Source – https://allafrica.com/

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The Queen formally agreed Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s request to end the current parliamentary session, the government said Wednesday.

The move to “prorogue” parliament will effectively lock lawmakers out of the building for several days in early September, possibly preventing them from making laws that would force Britain’s exit from the European Union to be delayed or even canceled if a deal cannot be agreed.

Britain is scheduled to leave the E.U. on Oct. 31, but currently has not accepted a withdrawal agreement which would lessen the shock of its departure. Johnson has pledged to leave on Halloween with or without such a deal — but many lawmakers are opposed to the shock economists say a so-called “no deal” Brexit would bring.

What is prorogation?

The prorogation of parliament is when the Queen ends one parliamentary session so that another can begin.

Prorogation can only happens when the Queen says so — which, in the modern era, is only after the Prime Minister has requested it. Lawmakers do not have a say in preventing prorogation.

In practice, it means sitting lawmakers will not meet for several weeks, meaning they cannot pass laws. Prorogation also gives the government an opportunity to set out its new agenda for the coming session, which is announced by the Queen in a speech to lawmakers amid great pomp and ceremony.

A Queen’s speech, in which she addresses lawmakers in parliament amid great pomp and ceremony setting out the agenda for the upcoming parliamentary session, is scheduled for Oct. 14.

Why is Johnson proroguing parliament now?

Johnson’s opponents have accused him of proroguing parliament in order to make a “no deal” Brexit more likely. But his government says a new parliamentary session is overdue. Normally a parliamentary session lasts for around a year. But the current session began in 2017, extended to give time to complex Brexit legislation.

The Johnson government announced the plan to prorogue parliament as a “plan to bring forward a bold and ambitious legislative agenda,” arguing that the current session of parliament had gone on for too long. “This is clearly the defence [the U.K. government] is going to run against charges of carrying out a constitutional outrage,” said Laura Kuennsberg, the BBC political editor who first broke the news, on Twitter.

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But there is a political explanation, too. Lawmakers have been on their summer break since July 25, just one day after Johnson became Prime Minister. On Sept. 3 they are due to return. They were due to sit for around two weeks until Sept. 14, when, in keeping with annual tradition, Parliament would be suspended until mid-October to allow for party conferences to take place.

Those two weeks were shaping up to be crucial for efforts by lawmakers to legislate against a “no deal” Brexit. But prorogation means lawmakers will only sit until Sept. 9 at the earliest and Sept. 12 at the latest, reducing the amount of time they have to agree on a law which could make it illegal for the U.K. to leave the E.U. without a deal, forcing Brexit to be delayed or even canceled.

Source – https://time.com/

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The actor, who receives the honour under her real name, Sarah Sinclair (she was born Sarah Caroline Olivia Colman and married Ed Sinclair in 2001), said she was “totally thrilled, delighted and humbled” to be in the company of her fellow honourees “most of whom have been nowhere near as visible as I have, but should be – and hopefully now will be.”

The sculptor Rachel Whiteread and Laura Lee, the chief executive of the Maggie’s cancer centres, become dames, and the actor Simon Russell Bealeand Simon Woolley, the founder of Operation Black Vote, are both knighted.

Beale, best known for his stage performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company and elsewhere, said: “I think my mother, were she alive, would be very proud.”

Lee said she was “overwhelmed and humbled … but I feel the honour is less in recognition of myself and more an acknowledgement of what Maggie’s does.”

Prof Mark Caulfield, the chief scientist and head of the 100,000 Genomes project, Robert Cohan, the 94-year-old founding artistic director of The Place theatre, and Boyd Tunnock, the founder of the confectionery firm and creator of the Tunnock’s teacake, also receive knighthoods.

Tunnock, who is 86 and is honoured for services to business and charity, said: “When you get to my age very few things surprise you, but this certainly did and I am deeply honoured and grateful to Her Majesty the Queen. Our primary purpose in life is to help others who are less fortunate than ourselves. Our country is full of very worthwhile causes that we can all make a contribution to in some way.”

Read more on TheGuardian

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