Kayode Ajulo, a constitutional lawyer, has described the emergence of many presidential aspirants for the 2023 general elections as a good omen for the country.

However, according to him, only three of the numerous APC aspirants are constitutionally qualified to contest the presidential election.

“From our preliminary examination of the aspirants, only three aspirants in the All Progressives Congress (APC) are constitutionally qualified to run for the president’s office,” Mr Ajulo told journalists, declining to elaborate further.

Among the APC aspirants are Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and ex-Lagos Governor Bola Tinubu.

The legal practitioner explained that he was not surprised at the number of aspirants jostling to serve the country, adding that the number was a far cry from his expectations.

“Anyone with a good fortune could afford the price and by the way, they’re only aspirants and buying the nomination form. It is not an automatic process that will translate to fielding such aspirants in the primaries because they will have to be screened first,” he added.

He also mentioned that for those that passed the screening, the stage would be cleared for horse-trading among them, ahead of the primary election.

Mr Ajulo recalled that in 1993, 30 aspirants bought the Social Democratic Party’s presidential nomination forms.

“In 2007, 27 presidential aspirants bought forms on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform. Do we have 27 or 30 aspirants yet in APC, so why the worry?” Mr Ajulo stressed. “If the aspirants come out to donate N100 million each to the party in a fund-raising, tongues would wag, hence this route” 

(NAN)