Labour Party Mocks APC Over Gombe Crisis, Declares it ‘Political Karma’

The Labour Party (LP) has seized upon the recent internal strife within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Gombe State, describing the chaos as “political karma” for President Bola Tinubu’s earlier jibe at opposition parties. Senator Nenadi Usman, the Caretaker Committee Chairperson of the Labour Party, issued a strong statement on the matter.

The Gombe crisis erupted at a North-East summit of APC stakeholders where some party bigwigs endorsed President Bola Tinubu for a second term in 2027 without explicitly mentioning Vice-President Kashim Shettima. This perceived omission led to irate delegates protesting and disrupting the meeting, with some even resorting to throwing chairs and punches.

Senator Usman highlighted the irony of the situation, noting that the incident occurred just days after President Tinubu, during a joint session with the National Assembly, had openly mocked opposition parties for their internal crises, expressing “pleasure to watch them in such disarray.”

In her statement, Usman asserted that what President Tinubu wished for others has now afflicted his own political household. She criticized the APC’s “reckless bid to enforce a one-person agenda without regard for process, respect, or even the dignity of their own Vice President,” which she claimed exposed the “rot at the core of their politics.” The Labour Party leader argued that the attempt to undermine Vice President Shettima in his own region signaled internal decay within the APC.

Usman further described President Tinubu’s initial comment about opposition parties as unbecoming of a democratic leader, stressing that “a president who celebrates the weakening of opposition is, by extension, celebrating the weakening of democracy itself.” She maintained that democracy thrives on contestation with responsibility and honor, not through consolidation of power or suppression.