Kumasi, Nov 1, GNA - Mr George Ayisi-Boateng, one of the contestants for the Ashanti regional chairmanship of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has denied rumours that he was stepping down.

He described the rumour as outrageous and said at no point in time did he tell anybody he was stepping down and that the rumour was part of an orchestrated attempt to slow down his campaign train. Speaking during a tour of some media houses in Kumasi on Monday, he said the rumour was developing into a situation where officialdom was not only involved but was backing one of the contestants and asking the district political heads to campaign for that candidate.

He called on powers that be to stop manipulating the electorate and not to use any remote tactics to favour one candidate against the others but to let the people decide who should lead them. Mr Ayisi-Boateng reiterated that his vision was to rejuvenate and invigorate the NPP in Ashanti and seal all cracks in the party.