The Nigerian government has condemned the threat by the All Progressive s Congress’ members in the National Assembly to block the 2014 budget, describing the move as unpatriotic.

At a press briefing after the Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday, the Minister for Information, Mr Labaran Maku, expressed dismay that elected officials could carry out such instructions against the government.

“It is shocking that elected government officials will adhere to a directive to block executive bills of a government that is doing so much to improve the economy as well as better the lives of the common man,” he said.

In an earlier comment on the directive, Mr Maku said that the party was holding Nigerians to ransom with such directive.

Mr Maku called on Nigerians to hold the All Progressives Congress (APC) members accountable for any negative effect the block budget directive may have on them.

The APC leadership had given a directive to lawmakers in the National Assembly, elected under the party’s platform and those that defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the party, to block all executive bills, to coerce President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene in the crisis in Rivers State.

The APC experienced an unprecedented increase in the number of lawmakers under its platform late last year, when some 36 lawmakers defected from the PDP to the APC.

Having an equal number of lawmakers with they PDP, APC said that they could be persuaded to support the passage of part of the the budget.