David Agius has opted out of the race for the post of PN secretary general, saying that he has been asked by party leader Simon Busuttil to concentrate on his job as Nationalist Party whip.

Mr Agius was one of a handful of names that were being mentioned as being in contention for the seat to be vacated by Chris Said who, also on the request of Simon Busuttil, will not contest for the position he has been holding for the past two years.

Asked by The Malta Independent yesterday, Mr Agius said that it is not his intention to contest after Dr Busuttil asked him to focus on his role as whip, for which he said he will be giving his all. “Apart from this, I also have responsibilities for local councils, youth and sport. I think that, for the good of the party, a secretary general must be fully focused on this particular role,” Mr Agius said.

Asked about the qualities a secretary general should have, Mr Agius said that the person to be elected by the executive committee in the coming weeks should dedicate all his or her time to this role. “Above all, this person must be able to bring everyone together with full loyalty towards the party and its leaders,” he said.

Mr Agius’ announcement comes in the week that the party general council will be meeting to elect its 18 representatives on the executive committee, which also includes other party officials including MPs. It will be the first time that the election will lead to nine men and nine women being elected, following the changes to the statute two years ago.

PN leader Simon Busuttil has said that his preference would be for someone outside the parliamentary group.