We are witnessing history’s irony unfold before our eyes. Just days after the president mocked the disunity among opposition parties, his own political platform has erupted into chaos in one of its most critical regions
Nenadi Usman, Chairperson of the Labour Party (LP) caretaker committee, has described the recent pandemonium at the All Progressives Congress (APC) North-East stakeholders’ summit in Gombe as a clear case of “political karma.”
Her remarks come in the wake of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent jabs at opposition parties for their internal crises.
The APC summit, which took place on Sunday, June 15, was intended to consolidate political alignment in the region. However, it quickly unraveled into disarray when certain party chieftains openly endorsed President Tinubu for a second term without recognizing Vice President Kashim Shettima.
The deliberate omission of the Vice President triggered strong backlash from delegates at the event, resulting in heated protests and near-violent confrontations that disrupted the meeting.
Reacting to the incident, Usman issued a statement on Tuesday, June 17, highlighting the irony of the situation. She emphasized that the conflict was a direct repercussion of President Tinubu’s earlier derisive comments about opposition parties.
“We are witnessing history’s irony unfold before our eyes. Just days after the president mocked the disunity among opposition parties, his own political platform has erupted into chaos in one of its most critical regions,” she said.
According to Usman, the crisis within the ruling APC exposes deeper issues rooted in authoritarian tendencies and internal exclusion. She accused the party of prioritizing a singular political ambition at the expense of due process, party unity, and democratic norms.
“In their desperate bid to advance a one-man political agenda, the APC has trampled on internal consensus and shown utter disregard for democratic procedures—even humiliating their own Vice President,” she stated.
She further noted that the North-East region’s backlash signals a growing internal fracture within the APC, no longer hidden from public view. “This isn’t just poetic justice; this is political karma,” Usman asserted. “What President Tinubu gleefully wished upon others has now come back to haunt his own political household.”
Condemning Tinubu’s earlier remarks—which framed the opposition’s challenges as entertainment—Usman warned that such rhetoric erodes the very fabric of democratic governance.
“A leader who takes pleasure in the destabilization of opposition voices is, in essence, cheering the erosion of democracy itself,” she said.
Usman called on Nigerians to advocate for a healthier political culture—one that does not seek to suppress opposition but safeguards it as a critical component of any functioning democracy. “The strength of democracy lies not in the silence of dissent but in the protection of it,” she emphasized.