• It is political karma, says Usman, LP factional leader.
By John Paul
Factional National Coordinator of the Labour Party (LP), Senator Nenadi Usman, yesterday fired broadsides at President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the protests that marred the party’s stakeholders meeting in Gombe State at the weekend to endorse the President for a second term.
Recall that a major fracas broke out in the meeting when the APC’s National Vice Chairman (North-East), Mustapha Salihu, moved a motion to endorse President Tinubu for a second term, but was silent on Vice President Kashim Shettima, who is the political leader of the zone.
In his endorsement, Salihu was silent on Shettima, a development that did not go down well with the VP’s loyalists. Subsequently, aggrieved delegates began hurling insults, threatening physical confrontation.
It took the intervention of security personnel to safely escort Salihu out of the venue and prevent the breakdown of law and order.
Efforts to calm frayed nerves by Deputy National Chairman (North), Alhaji Bukar Dalori, did not yield results as the charged atmosphere persisted. Dalori too had to be escorted out of the hall under security protection as protests continued. He was to subsequently issue a joint endorsement of both President Tinubu and Vice-President Shettima for a second term.
Usman, in a statement in Abuja yesterday, recalled that the President recently mocked the opposition’s moments of disarray,
saying that his comments showed disdain for dissent as an essential pillar of democracy.
The former minister wrote, “A president who celebrates the weakening of opposition is, by extension, celebrating the weakening of democracy itself.
“Today, we witness the irony of history in motion. Just days after the President’s unguarded and undemocratic remarks, his own party, the APC, has descended into a public crisis in the North East.
“In their reckless bid to enforce a one-man agenda without regard for process, respect, or even the dignity of their own Vice President, the APC has exposed the rot at the core of their politics.
“The people of the North East rejected the charade, and the fallout is now visible for all to see—smuggled party officials, a fractured house, and a nation watching.
“This is not poetic justice. It is political karma. What President Tinubu wished for others has turned to plague his own political household.
“The attempt to undermine Vice President Kashim Shettima in his own region is not just a sign of internal decay, but a dangerous signal to the nation that loyalty, dignity, and truth are traded cheaply in the corridors of power.
“Let it be known: democracy thrives not when power is consolidated, but when it is contested with responsibility and honour. We in the Labour Party will not gloat, but we will stand firm.
“This moment should be a mirror to the President, a time for deep reflection, not petty celebration. Nigeria deserves better than the politics of sabotage and suppression.
“To every Nigerian watching: the time has come to look beyond the noise and choose leadership rooted in humility, truth, and national interest.
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to building a nation where opposition is not persecuted but protected as a vital sign of our collective democratic health,” the statement read.