package libinput10:i386 1.6.3-1ubuntu1~16.04.1 failed to install/upgrade: package is in a very bad inconsistent state; you should reinstall it before attempting configuration

[Bob Wilson]

Recurring failure after system updates. I do not know the severity of this failure as I am new to Ubuntu.

ProblemType: Package
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 16.04
Package: libinput10:i386 1.6.3-1ubuntu1~16.04.1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.13.0-96.143-generic 3.13.11-ckt39
Uname: Linux 3.13.0-96-generic i686
ApportVersion: 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.13
Architecture: i386
Date: Wed Dec 6 15:43:35 2017
DuplicateSignature:
 package:libinput10:i386:1.6.3-1ubuntu1~16.04.1
 Processing triggers for hicolor-icon-theme (0.15-0ubuntu1) ...
 dpkg: error processing package libinput10:i386 (--configure):
  package is in a very bad inconsistent state; you should
ErrorMessage: package is in a very bad inconsistent state; you should reinstall it before attempting configuration
InstallationDate: Installed on 2016-04-07 (612 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS "Precise Pangolin" - Release i386 (20120423)
RelatedPackageVersions:
 dpkg 1.18.4ubuntu1.3
 apt 1.2.24
SourcePackage: libinput
Title: package libinput10:i386 1.6.3-1ubuntu1~16.04.1 failed to install/upgrade: package is in a very bad inconsistent state; you should reinstall it before attempting configuration
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to xenial on 2016-09-21 (446 days ago)

[Daniel van Vugt (vanvugt)]

Continued in bug 1969787.