Crowns Without Cash: South West Kings And Baales Cry Out Over Unpaid And Meagre Pay

Some traditional rulers in South West Nigeria have decried government non-payment of their monthly salaries, and village heads known as baales say they receive between N10,000 and N15,000 monthly, according to a Saturday PUNCH report published on November 14, 2026.

ValidViewNetwork gathered that the rulers say the situation has made it hard to run palaces, perform traditional duties and meet daily needs.

State governments have responded with mixed positions. Osun and Ogun point to the local government allocation and local councils, while Oyo denies the claims.

THE OLOYAN OF OYAN SOUNDS THE ALARM

The complaints follow a viral video in which the Oloyan of Oyan in Osun State, Oba Kelani Adekeye, said kings and chiefs are starving after seven months without salaries.

Another prominent Osun king, speaking anonymously, said many rulers struggle to feed themselves and ask for help. He said even older colleagues approach him, though he is not paid as a king either.

He expressed hope that President Tinubu will release the local government allocations being withheld by the Federal Government.

BAALES SPEAK OUT

A village head in Ede North Local Government Area, Osun, said he has had no pay since taking the position more than three years ago. He said about 31 village heads in the area receive nothing and are denied other entitlements.

An Ogbomoso-area king in Oyo State told the paper that lesser monarchs and village heads get crumbs. First-class kings take the lion’s share of the five per cent allocation and pass on what remains, he said, so some baales end up with N10,000 to N15,000 monthly.

In Ogun State, baales said they spend their own money to run their domains. A village head from Ewekoro said about 700 baales operate in the council area and only about 20 get a N10,000 stipend, irregularly.

He said they were once asked to pay N80,000 for a digital certificate. A baale from Ogun Waterside said he knows of none among over 70 who gets a stipend.

A baale from Remo North said they once got N15,000 through the Akarigbo but nothing since March.

Several accused politicians of using them to mobilise voters and then abandoning them.

In Kwara State, the Baale of Okerimioro in Irepodun Local Government Area, Chief Olusola Gbadeyan, said he has had no salary since ascending the throne in December 2025. He relies on support from his people in Lagos.

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A video in which he called a N3,000 monthly stipend for some village heads demeaning went viral this week. He stood by his remarks.

GOVERNMENTS RESPOND

Osun governor’s spokesperson Olawale Rasheed blamed the withheld local government allocations. He said traditional rulers are constitutionally entitled to five per cent of monthly local government allocations, to be shared by rank down to the baales, and that the money does not come from the state government.

Kayode Akinmade, Special Adviser to Ogun Governor Dapo Abiodun, said remuneration is a local government matter. He said baales are appointees of their kabiyesis and should take complaints to the councils.

The state’s Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ganiyu Hamzat, could not be reached.

Oyo’s Commissioner for Information, Dotun Oyelade, dismissed the claims as far from the truth, without giving details. ValidViewNetwork reports.