Minister for Information and Media Relations, Mahama Ayariga, has given cause for people to cast doubts about the sincerity of President John Dramani Mahama when he (the president) in May told the whole world that he was focused on his work as the president of Ghana and would not be distracted by the 2012 Presidential Election Petition at the Supreme Court, challenging his legitimacy as the true winner of the December presidential election.

Mr Ayariga yesterday made a tacit admission to effect that the inability of Mr Mahama and his National Democratic Congress government to initiate and implement sound programmes to tackle the challenges failing the nation’s ailing economy was because the 2012 Election Petition had been “a stumbling block” to the government.

The claim by the Information and Media Relations Minister, however, runs contrary to what his boss, the President, had sought to make Ghanaians and the entire world believe about his attitude towards the election petition.

During his three-day visit to France in May, 2013, President Mahama, in an interview with the BBC, insisted the challenge of his legitimacy at the Supreme Court by the 2012 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party and two other leading members of the party was not a distraction to his administration.

Speaking on a BBC Newsday programme, hosted by Farayi Mungazi, President Mahama said he was the least perturbed by the court case.

“Why should it worry me?” he asked, when Farayi Mungazi wanted to know if the election petition trial was really not impacting negatively on the running of his administration.

“I wouldn’t be in France if it was something that was distracting me from doing the work that I have to do. I serve at the pleasure of the Ghanaian people and the Ghanaian people voted for me,” President Mahama maintained.

But with two days left for the Supreme Court to come out with its verdict in the landmark Presidential Election Petition, President Mahama’s Information and Media Relations Minister has admitted the petition trial has had a negative impact on the running of the national administration by Mr Mahama.

Mahama Ayariga made this admission during yesterday’s edition of the Citi Breakfast Show while discussing the impact of the election petition case on the economy.

“It [the 2012 Presidential Election Petition trial] has become a major stumbling block in the way of the president, as he struggled to work towards improving the economy; the case has taken so much attention in the media; even as the Information Minister, to rally the media around key issues, such as healthcare, housing, education and to engage in public consciousness issues, has been very challenging,” Mr Ayariga confessed.

On the decline of foreign investment in the country, the minister said: [In] “the same way we can’t deny the fact that investments in the economy, potentially, was affected by people who adopted a wait and see attitude, especially, given how much attention we as Ghanaians give to the court proceedings.”

Mr Ayariga claimed: “there were people going round telling people that, don’t give in your best yet, this is not the proper team the court is about to declare... I have no doubt that the on-going case was a major stumbling block to government’s activities.”

But the view of the Information and Media Relations Minister runs counter to the position of Tony Aidoo, Head of Policy Monitoring and Evaluation at the Presidency, who insists that government cannot use the election petition as an excuse to say that it is not performing its functions or activities well.

Dr Aidoo, who was contributing to a panel discussion on Radio Gold's Alhaji and Alhaji programme, was reacting to last week’s suggestion by the Institute of Economic Affairs that the loser in the presidential election petition should not seek a review.

"…the IEA might be acting in good faith by saying that ‘look, don't let us prolong this issue because from the practical point of view it has affected the lives of Ghanaians, especially the governance of this country’. If that is the point, there are some serious queries that arise.

Is it a case that the government's attention has been diverted simply because it is being sued in court? I don't think this is something that should happen at all because until the case is disposed off, government has a responsibility to govern and govern well. So you cannot say that because of this case, activities of government have been seriously affected,” Dr Aidoo stated.