[WATCH] Jason Azzopardi’s silence on Vassallo ‘evidence in itself’, says minister

Bonnici insists on Jason Azzopardi's resignation

If opposition MP Jason Azzopardi believes construction magnate Nazzareno Vassallo was lying when he testified under oath that a PN minister had told him a compromise would be reached on the sale of the former Lowenbrau land in Qormi, he should sue him for libel or perjury, justice minister Owen Bonnici said on Monday. 

Bonnici, who was addressing a press conference at the Labour Party headquarters with notary Ian Castaldi Paris, said that every new piece of evidence revealed in the case further highlighted the involvement of former minister Jason Azzopardi, who should immediately resign from the Opposition ranks in parliament. 

Photo by James Bianchi/MediaToday

He said that Azzopardi should acknowledge whether he was responsible for the case, since he was the one to sign the contract with construction magnate Nazzareno Vassallo. 

Bonnici noted that, under oath in Court, Vassallo said he had visited Azzopardi who had promised him a compromise would be reached. 

"If he met Vassallo or not, he is the one that signed the contract and he should resign immediately," he said. 

Bonnici said he had no doubt that it was Azzopardi who had met Vassallo, especially after former PN minister Tonio Fenech announced on Sunday he had never met Vassallo. 

Castaldi Paris said that Azzopardi was hiding and not being honest about what he did, and whether other people had pressured him to sign the contract with Vassallo. 

The auditor general had made it clear that Azzopardi was to be held responsible. 

"It is evident now that Azzopardi and the Nationalist Party - who speak out repeatedly on good governance - are in a panic," he said.

In a statement, Azzopardi said that in last Friday's showdown with Bonnici on Xarabank, he had proven that he had never met Vassallo to discuss the Qormi land deal.

"And yet, the minister persists in blatantly lying about me in a bid to try and portray the Nationalist Party as being as corrupt and dirty as the Labour government," he said. "Owen Bonnici has been been trying to latch onto this story for three weeks and, now that it's backfired, he's trying to introduce an element of political interference into the mix."