President Bola Tinubu has assured Nigerians of measurable reductions in transportation costs from Oct. 1 through expanded use of cheaper CNG-powered transit.

Tinubu ​‌‍⁠‌‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠​⁠‍⁠‍⁠‍‌​said the Federal Government was working with state governments and transport stakeholders to ensure savings from cheaper energy translate into lower fares.

The President gave the assurance in a statement personally signed by him on Saturday.

He recalled he had met with the governors of the 36 states on Aug. 27, and they agreed that more Nigerians should benefit from lower transport costs.

Tinubu said an implementation committee for the National Affordable CNG Transit Programme was subsequently established under the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.

The committee, chaired by Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara, is working with stakeholders to identify priority transport corridors and determine appropriate interventions.

He said the committee, PI-CNG & EV, states and other stakeholders were already working to put necessary arrangements in place.

Tinubu said the urgency had increased amid the current global energy crisis and its impact on petrol and diesel prices and transportation costs.

He cited existing CNG and electric transport initiatives across states as evidence that cheaper energy could translate into significant savings for commuters.

In Borno, he said CNG-powered and electric public transport services carry commuters for between N50 and N100 on routes where commercial operators charge N300 to N600.

In Kaduna, 100 CNG-powered buses provide free transportation on major routes, carrying about 3.2 million passengers in their first year.

The buses, he said, saved commuters more than N3.5 billion in transportation costs during the period.

In Oyo, CNG buses deployed to Pacesetter Transport reduced the Lagos-Ibadan fare from about N8,000 to N3,200 during initial deployment.

In Adamawa, alternative-energy transit services have cut fares by as much as 50 per cent, from N8,000 to N4,000.

In Enugu, where 100 CNG buses have been deployed, the Enugu-Nsukka fare has fallen from N2,500 to N1,500.

Tinubu said government-supported buses in Plateau carry about 13,000 commuters daily at N200, compared with more than N500 charged commercially.

Through a partnership with NURTW, passengers on CNG-converted commercial vehicles on several Abuja routes receive a 40 per cent fare reduction.

He said fares on Area 1-Gwagwalada, Nyanya and Wuse routes had fallen from N1,500 to N900, N700 to N420 and N400 to N240, respectively.

In Niger, passengers on the Suleja-Abuja route pay N550, compared with about N800, while Abia has deployed 40 electric buses with fares subsidised by 50 per cent.

He commended governors and state governments that had moved quickly, but urged them to do more, assuring them of Federal Government support.

Tinubu said disruptions to global energy supplies were again putting pressure on petrol and diesel prices and increasing transportation costs worldwide.

He said Nigeria could not control global energy markets but, as a gas-rich nation, could reduce its exposure through cheaper alternatives.

Tinubu said his administration had, over the last three years, invested deliberately in building a CNG transportation ecosystem across Nigeria.

He said more than 120,000 vehicles had been converted, with over 400 certified conversion centres and more than 90 CNG refuelling stations nationwide.

The President urged states to sustain momentum towards Oct. 1 by working with transport unions and commercial operators to support conversion and fleet deployment.

“Above all, ensure that savings from cheaper energy reach Nigerian citizens through lower fares,” he told the governors.

Tinubu assured that the Federal Government would continue supporting CNG infrastructure, conversion capacity and access while creating an enabling environment for investors.

“Nigeria has the gas. We are building the infrastructure. We are already seeing the savings

“Now we must move faster and scale this so that more Nigerians feel those savings in the fares they pay every day,” he said.(NAN)

Edited by Yakubu Uba

Long before the title “King of Small Chops” became synonymous with Prince Saheed Kekere-Ekun, there was a young man working as a waiter at parties and hospitality establishments in Lagos, learning the business from the ground up and quietly imagining a future few around him could probably have predicted.

Decades later, that young waiter has become one of the most recognisable personalities associated with Nigeria’s small-chops industry.

Today, as Prince Saheed Akorede Kekere-Ekun, popularly known as Saheeto, celebrates his birthday, his story is not simply that of a successful caterer.

It is the story of an entrepreneur who helped turn an often-overlooked part of the Nigerian party menu into a thriving commercial enterprise and, in the process, built a brand that has survived for more than three decades.

It is also a story with a delicious irony.

The man who made his name selling “small chops” ended up building something very big.

Kekere-Ekun’s journey dates back to his early years working as a waiter at Lagos social functions. Published accounts of his career trace the formal establishment of Saheeto International Limited to 1994, although his involvement in hospitality began earlier.

From those beginnings emerged a business dedicated to finger foods and event catering at a time when the category had nowhere near the commercial profile it enjoys today.

Kekere-Ekun saw possibilities where others saw party snacks.

He understood that spring rolls, samosas, puff-puff and other bite-sized foods could be more than an accompaniment served while guests waited for the main meal. With the right presentation, quality control, consistency and service, they could become a business in their own right.

That insight would help shape the Saheeto story.

Over time, weddings, birthdays and private celebrations gave way to increasingly large assignments, corporate functions and high-profile events. Saheeto became a familiar name within Lagos social circles and eventually beyond Nigeria.

Kekere-Ekun has credited much of that expansion not to flashy advertising but to referrals, repeat customers and maintaining standards.

His longevity is perhaps one of the most striking aspects of the story.

In a business where tastes change quickly and competitors emerge constantly, Kekere-Ekun has spent more than three decades associated with essentially the same proposition: take something seemingly ordinary and deliver it extraordinarily well.

And his influence has not been limited to what Saheeto sells.

Kekere-Ekun has spoken proudly over the years about training people who subsequently established themselves in the catering industry and, in turn, trained others. He has described that multiplier effect as one of the most satisfying parts of his entrepreneurial journey.

That may ultimately prove to be one of the more important chapters of the Saheeto story.

Businesses can be counted in outlets and revenues. Industries are built when knowledge is transferred and other entrepreneurs emerge.

The journey, however, has not been without bruises.

Kekere-Ekun has publicly recalled major business setbacks, including an early catering disaster in which food prepared for roughly 2,000 guests was spoiled, forcing his team to start again under enormous pressure. He has also spoken about suffering a much larger financial loss after operational problems affected a major catering contract.

He survived both.

Those episodes offer another explanation for the longevity of the man behind Saheeto: an ability to absorb setbacks, reassess and keep moving.

His interests would eventually stretch beyond catering. Published profiles have linked him with hospitality and real estate, including Saheeto’s Place on Lagos Island.

His entrepreneurial work also earned formal recognition. FATE Foundation’s anniversary records list Saheed Kekere Ekun as its 2012 FATE Alumni Model Entrepreneur, while he has received other recognition for his contributions to food and hospitality.

Then there is another side to Kekere-Ekun: politics.

Years before his more recent appearances on the political circuit, he publicly discussed his political ambitions and sought to represent Lagos Island Constituency II in the House of Representatives on the platform of the All Progressives Congress.

More recently, he was visible in Ekiti during the campaign for Governor Biodun Oyebanji, appearing alongside leading political figures and supporters during the election period.

It paints the portrait of a man whose network and interests have expanded considerably from the Lagos hospitality scene where his journey began.

But food remains at the heart of his identity.

That story is now moving into another generation through Saheeto Signature.

In August, the company opened its Saheeto Signature Grill Hub in Wuse 2, Abuja, extending a hospitality journey that has lasted more than three decades into a concept where customers do not have to wait for a wedding or major party to experience the brand.

It is a significant evolution.

The waiter became an entrepreneur.

The entrepreneur became an employer and trainer.

The small-chops business became a hospitality brand.

And the brand is now being positioned for another chapter.

For the many younger entrepreneurs who today make a living from small chops, finger foods and event catering, Kekere-Ekun’s journey is also a reminder that an industry does not always begin with a grand idea.

Sometimes it begins with recognising the enormous potential hidden inside something everyone else considers small.

That is what makes his birthday today more than a celebration of another year.

It is an opportunity to celebrate Prince Saheed Kekere-Ekun — the man behind Saheeto, the entrepreneur who helped give small chops a bigger place in Nigerian hospitality, and the businessman whose journey from waiting tables to building a recognised brand has become a story of persistence, reinvention and enterprise.

After more than three decades, people still call him “The King of Small Chops.”

Perhaps the greatest tribute to his journey is that nobody considers the business small anymore.

Happy birthday, Prince Saheed Kekere-Ekun.