Where is Jake Otanka Obetsebi Lamptey?

News making rounds indicates that, a stalwart and founding father of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has died.

However, Gabby Otchere-Darko has posted that, the former chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is alive contrary to widely circulated rumours on social media that he has kicked the bucket.

The former Tourism Minister led the Danquah-Busia-Dombo tradition into power for the first time under the Fourth Republic in 2000.

His tenure as national campaign manager brought President John Agyekum Kufuor to power and helped him win a second term in 2004.

Reports are rife that he is under the weather and seeking medical treatment outside Ghana, but social media platforms, especially Facebook were inundated with news that the former radio and TV scriptwriter, commentator and presenter at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) was no more.

NPP communicators and leading members took to Facebook to dispel the rumour.

Deputy communications director Perry Okudzeto wrote on Facebook: “Jake Otanka Obetsebi Lamptey lives.”

His colleague Anthony Karbo also added: “No weapon…..Otanka lives on.”

Until April 2014, Mr. Lamptey was the chairman of the main opposition party in Ghana. He lost the position to Paul Afoko, who is currently on suspension ahead of the 2016 elections.

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BORN in Accra on February 4, 1946, he was educated in Ghana (then Gold Coast) and the U.K. He returned to Ghana in January 1966.

In June 1966 he joined the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, Television Service. Whilst in GBC, in addition to his television duties he also hosted programmes on radio and freelanced with the Ghana Film Industries Corporation writing and anchoring documentaries and Ghana Newsreel respectively. In 1969 he joined Lintas W.A. Ltd, Accra, a Unilever Company as a client service executive and radio and television producer.

He was subsequently appointed joint general manager in 1972, becoming at age 26 the youngest head of any Unilever Company worldwide. In 1974 he became managing director of Lintas Ghana Ltd., a wholly Ghanaian owned company that took over Lintas W.A. Limited Ghana operations.

He was the Chief Executive of the Advantage Group of Companies, which included Lintas Ghana, Afromedia Ghana Ltd., Research International Ltd., Pro Design Ghana Ltd, Advantage Production, Advantage Public Relations, Afromedia Liberia Inc. and Afromedia Sierra Leone Ltd.

He is a leading authority on Social Marketing and has worked on programmes on Population/Contraceptives, HIV/AIDS and Malaria in a number of countries for, among others, the Futures Group, Population Services International and the World Health Organisation.

He was a plenary speaker at the first world AIDS Summit and was a member of the team that prepared the world response to AIDS for the World Health Organisation.

He has several publications to his credit and has written and produced a number of films including “AIDS NEEDS FOR ACTION NOW” in 1986, which was successfully used by the WHO to bring the developing menace to the attention on opinion leaders in Africa and elsewhere.

As a politician he was the chairman of the Publicity Committee of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) from inception of the party and served as the Greater Accra Regional chairman of the NPP from 1997 – 2005. He served on the 1992 and 1986 campaign teams. He was the National campaign manager of the electoral battle that brought President John Agyekum Kufuor and the NPP to power in 2001.

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He was appointed Chief of Staff to the President in February 2001 and subsequently Minister for Presidential Affairs and Chief of Staff. He was made Minister for Information and Presidential Affairs in October 2001.

He also served as the Minister of Tourism & Modernisation of the Capital City and later Minister of Tourism and Diasporan Relations from May 2003 to June 2007.

He was again the campaign manager for the NPP for the 2004 election.

He captained the National Squash Rackets team and also played cricket for Ghana.

He now plays golf. He reads widely and enjoys music.

He is married with children.

Source-newsghana.com.gh.