Traditional rulers and village heads across parts of South-West Nigeria have decried the non-payment of their monthly salaries and allowances, saying the situation has made it increasingly difficult to run their palaces, perform traditional duties and meet their basic needs.
Some village heads, also known as baales, said they received between N10,000 and N15,000 monthly, while others claimed they had not received any payment since assuming office several years ago.
Their complaints come amid renewed concerns over the welfare of traditional rulers following remarks by the Oloyan of Oyan in Osun State, Oba Kelani Adekeye, who recently lamented that monarchs and chiefs in the state had gone seven months without receiving their salaries.
In a video that went viral, Adekeye said, “The kings and chiefs are starving.”
However, findings by Saturday PUNCH revealed that the Osun monarch was not alone in expressing concerns about the financial difficulties confronting traditional rulers.
Another prominent monarch in the state, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told our correspondent that several traditional rulers were struggling to provide for themselves and had resorted to seeking financial assistance from their colleagues.
“The monarch you are talking about is not the only one complaining. Some of them, even those older than me, have approached me for support, although I am also not being paid as a king.
“Kings are lamenting, and we know why. We have no money. We just hope that President Bola Tinubu will ensure the release of the local government allocations being withheld by the Federal Government,” he said.
‘I have not received salary in over three years’ — Village head
A village head in Ede North Local Government Area of Osun State also lamented that he had not received any salary or payment from the government since assuming office more than three years ago.
The baale said he had been relying on his existing means of livelihood to survive, adding that several other traditional titleholders in the local government were facing similar challenges.
According to him, at least 31 village heads in Ede North have not received any payment from the government despite occupying their traditional positions.
He further alleged that they were being denied other entitlements, describing their circumstances as increasingly difficult.
“I have not received any salary since I assumed the throne over three years ago. I have only been surviving because I already had what I was doing before becoming a baale.
“About 31 of us in Ede North Local Government are not receiving anything from the government. We are also not getting all our entitlements,” he said.
Meanwhile, a monarch in one of the towns in the Ogbomoso area of Oyo State told Saturday PUNCH that lesser monarchs and village heads often received only a fraction of the funds allocated to traditional rulers by the government.
The monarch, who spoke on condition of anonymity, alleged that first-class traditional rulers received the largest share of the five per cent allocation before distributing the remainder among second- and third-class monarchs and village heads.
“What some of us receive every month is nothing to write home about. I have village heads who receive between N10,000 and N15,000 monthly. What are they expected to do with such a paltry amount?
“The allocation for traditional rulers is held by the first-class kings, who then distribute it to lesser monarchs and village heads. By the time it gets to the lower levels, the money would have been reduced to crumbs. What we receive cannot sustain us,” he said.
Ogun baales decry hardship
Some baales in Ogun State have also lamented the lack of government support, saying they have been forced to use their personal resources to administer their respective communities.
Speaking with Saturday PUNCH on Thursday, they accused politicians of relying on traditional community leaders to mobilise residents during elections but abandoning them afterwards.
A village head from Ewekoro Local Government Area, who spoke on condition of anonymity, alleged that the government had failed to provide them with adequate financial support and, in some instances, demanded money from them.
“We are getting nothing from the government. We are about 700 baales in Ewekoro Local Government, and about 20 of us receive a monthly stipend of N10,000, but even this is not paid regularly.
“Some time ago, we were asked to pay N80,000 to collect a digital certificate. What that means, I really do not know. Yet, when elections come, we are the ones they call upon to mobilise people for them,” he said.
Another baale from Ogun Waterside, who also requested anonymity for fear of victimisation, said community leaders received little or no financial support from the government.
“There are over 70 baales in Ogun Waterside Local Government, but I do not know of any baale receiving a monthly stipend. Even when we attend meetings, we pay our own expenses.
“The baales are hungry, not to talk of the residents. The government must address this situation because, once you become a baale, you may not even have enough time to attend to your business due to the numerous meetings you have to attend.
“The government must recognise that baales play crucial roles in maintaining law and order at the grassroots and should support them in carrying out these responsibilities,” he added.
Another village head from Remo North corroborated the accounts, saying baales had been left to administer their communities without adequate financial assistance.
“There was a time we received N15,000 from the government through the Akarigbo, but we have not received anything since March. What can N15,000 do? It is not even enough to buy airtime, yet we spend our own money running our communities daily.
“Elections are approaching, and politicians have started coming to us. But once the elections are over, the baale becomes irrelevant. It is that bad, and there is hardship in the land. Many times, we are expected to support residents in need even when we have nothing ourselves,” he said.
Kwara chief laments N3,000 monthly stipends
Similarly, the Baale of Okerimioro in Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, Chief Olusola Gbadeyan, said he had not received any salary since ascending the throne in December 2025, despite performing traditional responsibilities, including settling disputes among his subjects.
Gbadeyan, who spoke with our correspondent on Thursday, said he had been relying on financial assistance from relatives and other people living in Lagos to meet his needs.
A video in which he lamented that some village heads received monthly stipends of just N3,000 went viral during the week, generating widespread reactions.
In the video, he said, “I came from Lagos to be made a chief, and I observed that our elders who have been installed for 15 to 20 years are suffering. Does a chief deserve to be paid N3,000 as a stipend? It is demeaning to receive N3,000 monthly. What do you expect chiefs receiving such an amount to do with it?
“I was called from Lagos to become a chief. I brought my mother, wives and children down to Oro, and up till now, I have not received anything from either the local government or the community.”
Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, Gbadeyan maintained that traditional rulers in his position were being neglected.
“Everything I said in the video is correct. I did not make those comments to tarnish anybody’s image but to call on the appropriate authorities to make the necessary corrections,” he said.
Osun blames withheld LG funds; Ogun, Oyo reject allegations
Reacting to the complaints, the spokesperson for the Osun State Governor, Olawale Rasheed, attributed the non-payment of salaries and entitlements to traditional rulers to the withholding of local government allocations by the Federal Government.
Rasheed said traditional rulers were constitutionally entitled to five per cent of monthly local government allocations, which should be distributed among them according to their respective ranks and hierarchies.
He maintained that the funds were not the responsibility of the state government, adding that traditional rulers, including baales, were expected to benefit from the statutory allocation.
“Constitutionally, traditional rulers have five per cent from the local government across the 36 states. Each local government has traditional rulers in different classes, and they also have baales under them.
“Hence, they will rationalise the five per cent allocation among themselves and share it according to their respective levels until it gets to the baales.
“Therefore, the funds are not coming from the state government, and there is no way any traditional ruler can be remunerated when the five per cent allocation is not available,” he said.
In Ogun State, the Special Adviser to Governor Dapo Abiodun on Information and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, said issues concerning the remuneration of traditional rulers fell within the jurisdiction of their respective local governments.
According to him, baales were appointed by their respective monarchs, who oversee their jurisdictions, while local governments were responsible for providing whatever entitlements were due to them.
“The baales are appointees of their respective kabiyesi, who is in charge of that jurisdiction. It is the responsibility of the local government to give them whatever is due to them.
“If they are experiencing any challenges in that regard, they should direct their complaints to the local government because the state government is not expected to usurp the responsibilities of local governments,” he said.
Efforts to reach the Ogun State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ganiyu Hamzat, for comments were unsuccessful.
However, the Oyo State Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, dismissed the allegations, describing them as untrue.
“That is far from the truth,” he said, without providing further details.
