The spokeswoman for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) campaign team, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, has described as diversionary a minority petition calling for  a probe into a Ford car gift President John Mahama received from a Burkinabe contractor.

She said the petition was to distract the president from pursuing the Better Ghana Agenda which is at the heart of the party's re-election bid.

The Speaker of Parliament Edward Doe Adjaho dismissed the petition on Wednesday, citing constitutional provisions and earlier Supreme Court rulings.

"These are all basically diversionary tactics by the opposition, so we do expect all these things to come up," Mrs Mogtari told Accra-based Class FM. "But in any case, why do we have all these arms and branches of government being asked to work separately from the other? Why do they each have a mandate derived from the 1992 constitution to undertake their responsibilities?

She continued: So you know, as I indicated, we are in a democracy and more than anything else, I believe that there is no [hindrance] on anybody’s access to whatever form of the democratic arms of government that you would want to use to seek redress, be it to go to CHRAJ or to go to the Chief Justice.”

She also commended the Speaker's ruling, saying he demonstrated leadership in the face of provocation from the minority.

"But in all of this, I believe that the Speaker of parliament has shown great leadership, he has acted with a lot of decorum and tolerance in the face of the activities of the Minority.”