The All Progressives Congress (APC) has lost 32 of its members in the house of representatives to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Four other APC members defected to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), while a rep left the party without stating his new direction.
In all, the ruling party lost 37 members. This comes hours after 14 APC senators moved to the PDP.
In the defection letter read by Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the house, the lawmakers cited factionalisation and division in the ruling party as reason for leaving.
The development has caused jubilation in the house.
Today’s mass defection follows Security agencies laying siege on the homes of Senate President Bukola Saraki and Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu in Abuja.
The move is said to be an apparent ploy to prevent them from making it to the National Assembly today because of an alleged plan by many lawmakers to decamp en masse from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Mr Saraki was summoned to appear at police department for further investigation into alleged killings in Kwara State at 8:00 a.m. today. It remained unclear why the police blocked his residence at dawn.
