Former Gozo minister Giovanna Debono, defence lawyer Joe Giglio, right, and Anthony Debono outside the Gozo court yesterday. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

Former Gozo minister Giovanna Debono yesterday announced her resignation from the PN parliamentary group after her husband was charged over the ‘works for votes’ allegations.

Anthony Debono pleaded not guilty and was granted bail when he was arraigned under arrest at the Gozo court yesterday afternoon.

Soon after the departure of the veteran MP from the PN’s ranks, though she will still remain an MP, Nationalist Party leader Simon Busuttil said he asked Gozitan MP Chris Said not to seek re-election as general secretary in order to focus exclusively on Gozo. Dr Said’s two-year term expires at the end of this month.

Addressing a news conference at the PN headquarters in Pietà immediately after Mr Debono’s arraignment, Dr Busuttil said Dr Said’s remit would be to regain the PN’s lost ground on the sister island, where Labour made huge inroads in what was traditionally a Nationalist stronghold.

Allegations that the former Gozo minister’s husband had masterminded a scheme through which works had been carried out on private properties using public funds appeared in the media two months ago. These claims were made by a contractor turned whistleblower.

Dr Said subsequently came under fire when it transpired that, in May last year, the same contractor had alerted him of these alleged cases through an e-mail. The contractor had complained that he had not got paid for the works he had carried out for Mrs Debono’s constituents as recently as March 2013.

Dr Said had insisted that the term ‘works for votes’ used in the e-mail in question did not necessarily imply abuse.

There were quarters that interpreted Dr Busuttil’s decision as a sign that the party leadership was not happy with the manner in which Dr Said had handled the issue. However, when contacted, Dr Said rejected talk of a demotion. He said the timing of his exit was dictated by the forthcoming PN executive council election when his successor would have to be chosen.