Don�t Insult My Mother

Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, a leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has called on members of his party to eschew internal brawls that degenerate into personal attacks at the detriment of the party�s fortunes. �If during the elections you insult my mother, you make it difficult for me to work with you later- win or lose. So don�t insult my mother. Do not say or do things that others will find unforgivable,� Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey told Greater Accra regional and constituency executives of the NPP on Thursday when he officially announced his intention to run for the party�s National Chairmanship position in December this year. �Insah Allah, I will be standing for the office of National Chairman. I feel I will bring to this office my adult experience of successfully managing a large organization, my training in marketing and communications, my experience as Greater Accra Regional Chairman, three times from 1997 to 2004, during which period we won the majority of Parliamentary seats and Presidential votes for the first time in the history of our tradition. �And finally, my political strategic planning and execution experience as the Campaign Manager of the successful Presidential campaigns of 2000 and 2004,� Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey noted. The event, which attracted a host of Greater Accra regional and constituency party officers, was also attended by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, NPP presidential candidate for the 2008 elections; Dr. Nyaho Tamakloe, Ghana�s former Ambassador to Serbia; Major (rtd) Courage Quashigah, former Minister for Health; Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, MP for Weija; and Stephen Asamoah Boateng, former Information Minister, among others. According to Jake, invitation was extended to all the persons who had shown interest in the flagbearership of the party, but it was only Nana Addo and Major Quashigah who came for the event, with others such as Alan Kyerematen, Isaac Osei and Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng being engaged in other events. Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey called for the support of his audience in his quest for chairmanship and expressed the belief that his relationship with all and sundry in the party, especially with those who are aspiring to lead, will help realize his dream, adding that his reputation for fairness makes him an acceptable National Chairman. He said the aim of becoming National Chairman is to win power for the party in 2012. The event was described as a family meeting of NPP faithful in Accra and Mr. Obetsebi Lamptey used the occasion to congratulate the Greater Accra branch of the party for successfully completing its polling station elections in over 2000 polling stations. He said the party ought to build on three major lessons from the exercise and mentioned the enthusiasm the expansion in internal democracy is generating, the opportunity to professionalize its operation by developing an active database of supporters and the fact that the party is better off when its members are allowed to compete freely without manipulation and control. Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey noted that the NPP has tasted the ashes of defeat and so by the time it recaptures power in 2012, it would have learnt that �anyone from the NPP in power is better than someone from the NDC. �I want to believe that we are all learning that it is better to sacrifice some of our personal ambitions for the common good because at the end of the day, a piece of cake is better than none. �That attitude of �if I can�t have it, you can�t have it�, always leads to none of us having it, not only the two of you,� he added.