The National Scout Association(NSA), over the leadership of the group, festered on Wednesday as the South-South leadership of the pseudo-military group dissociated itself from the splitter group led by Olusoga Sofolahan.
The South-South leadership hinged its stance on the directive by the World Organisation of Scout Movement (WOSOM), asking that all actions leading to the emergence a new national leadership structure be put in abeyance pending the determination of all contentious issues before it.
Addressing a press conference in Benin on Wednesday, at the State Secretariat of the Edo State Scout Council, Emmanuel Eseine, Edo State State Commissioner, who doubles as the Chairman of the South-South State Commissioners of Scout, said that anyone laying claims to the leadership of NSA after WOSM had given its directive, was acting in contravention of the constitution of the group.
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To check this move, the South-South leadership of the scout movement on Wednesday in Benin City denounced the claims of a parallel leadership in the association just as the Edo State chapter said a legal action had been instituted against those claiming to be the leaders which they said was contrary to the directive of the WOSM.
Eseine asked those behind the move to have a rethink and not derail the association from its core agenda of moulding the character of young boys and girls.
He said the group led by one Olusoga Sofolohan acted contrary to the constitution of the association by organizing an unauthorized Annual General Meeting (AGM) where they purportedly emerged as leaders despite directives from the WOSM to halt the meeting while investigation was launched into the allegations they raised against the former leadership of the association that emerged in Benue State.
Flanked by the chairman of the Scout Councils from Delta State, Hon Agbagoro Landlord-Lawrence and his Bayelsa State counterpart, Comrade Williie Austin, Eseine said “While the outcome of the Benue AGM is kept in abeyance in total regard to the directives of WOSM, the National leadership is compelled back to status-quo till there is news from Kuala Lumpur the world operational Centre of WOSM in Malaysia.
“Without regards to WOSM, they quickly arranged a kangaroo election with only nine states in attendance and gave positions to themselves and their cronies who in turn went about to place suspension on state commissioners not in tune with their shady deals.
“The Conference of State Scout Commissioners South-South zone is here to totally condemn those impostors, impersonators claiming they are today the National leaders of the association.
“We do not have anything to do with them because they operate in total disobedience to the principles, rules, ethics, belief and conduct of Scouting. A Scout obeys orders-rule No.7,” he reiterated.
