The Federal Government says the All Progressives Congress (APC) reserves the right to challenge defectors in court.
Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, said this on Saturday during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise.
The Minister when asked about the party’s next step for the defected APC members to vacate their seats, said: “I still believe that the party (APC) reserves the legal right to actually challenge any of them and ask for their seats to be declared vacant.”
His comments come after the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and some lawmakers and three state governors left the ruling party for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The minister believes that the defections were planned following the emergence of the Reformed-All Progressives Congress (R-APC).
“All you have seen from the beginning – R-APC, Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) were laying the foundation for the defection,” he added.
The minister also accused the leadership of the National Assembly (NASS) of frustrating efforts to ensure unity within the party.
According to him, the emergence of principal officers of NASS was against the wishes of the party as the election in 2015 happened when most APC lawmakers were having a meeting with the President.
He added, “The leadership of the National Assembly destroyed party cohesion the moment they chose to go against the wishes of the party in the election of NASS principal officers.
“It is no longer a secret that the manner at which the Senate President emerged was not to the liking of the part as a whole.
“I still remember clearly that the major leaders of the party were waiting to meet at the National Conference Centre in Abuja for Mr President when we heard that the Senate President had emerged.”
Lai Mohammed, however, decried that the necessary working relationship between the executive and legislative arms of government was getting affected by what he described as the “lack of discipline within the NASS leadership”.
