Ex-Governor Mimiko Seeks Improved Public Health, Education Funding

Former Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, has renewed his call for a drastic increase in public spending on health and education, warning that Nigeria’s development will remain stunted unless government tackles “sibling alliance against development – illiteracy and ill-health.”

Delivering the convocation lecture at the Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara, Kogi State, with the title: “Ill-health and Illiteracy: Siblings Alliance Against Development,” Mimiko said Nigeria’s human development indicators paint “a dismal picture,” despite recent fiscal reforms that have boosted government revenues.

He acknowledged some ongoing policy efforts in the education and health sectors but insisted they need to be ramped up and aggressively pursued.

According to the ex-Ondo State governor,, “improved accruals from subsidy removal, exchange rate unification and the expected commencement of tax reforms in 2026 present a rare opportunity for governments at all levels to redirect more funds to human capital development.

Mimiko placed special emphasis on childhood nutrition, which he said lies at the intersection of health, education and agriculture, and should be treated as a national priority.

He further argued that the free school meal programme has to be rebranded and decentralised so that the federal government could set general guidelines, standard and limits while the actual project implementation should be devolved to sub-national governments.

He stressed that the programme could be reworked to incorporate “the irreducible minimum of one egg, one child, one day”, saying this will make compliance and accountability easy to track. “It will also have a catalytic effect on our livestock industry,” Mimiko said.

Speaking briefly on insecurity, Mimiko believes Nigeria must decentralise the police service. “No federation like Nigeria anywhere has the type of centralised police structure we have in Nigeria.”

He also expressed optimism that the “Nigeria First” policy of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration could help shift attention away from over reliance on market forces and toward deliberate public investment needed to drive industrialisation.

“As government revenues improve, the visible hand of the state must ensure fair redistribution by channeling more public resources into healthcare and education,” he said, noting that such “investments are essential for producing the skilled and innovative citizens required to drive sustainable national development.