Gov. Ademola Adeleke of Osun says he is confidence of maintaining his seat in the 2026 governorship election, saying his achievements and goodwill will enhance his re-election chances.

Adeleke disclosed this while speaking with newsmen shortly after he was screened by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Osun State Governorship Screening Panel in Abuja.

“I’m so confident I’m going to win. If I could defeat an incumbent and now that I’m the governor, within two years, it’s unprecedented what we have achieved in less than two years. I’m so confident that nobody can beat us there.”

He spoken confidently that the federal might will not influence the outcome of the election because he is popular and the people of the state have much love for him.

“How can I be scared? I’m too popular! Anywhere I go, people love me and everybody say `Imole.’

“What are you talking about? Anywhere I go, throughout this country, even among the All Progressives Congress (APC) people, I have some friends as well as in other parties.

“Just take APC as a case study: anytime they’re having a party or an event, I’ll go there, I’ll take over and they all love me.

“If you are not performing, that’s when you’ll be scared. When you have your people behind you, you don’t have to fear,’’ he stated.

Adeleke outlined that he is optimistic that President Bola Tinubu will not want to be dabble into the state election, but would rather ensure free, fair and credible election.

Also speaking to newsmen, Adebayo Adepoju, the Chairman, Osun State PDP Governorship Screening Committee, described the screening process as smooth process.

“We had gone through all his credentials to ascertain that everything was in order. We had done that even before he arrived, he had submitted his documents on time.

“We went through his forms, his nomination forms and we also noticed that he was nominated by very highly placed people as well as ordinary people in Osun communities.

“This just shows that he is very well accepted all around the party. We went through other credentials besides academic ones that he had submitted and everything was very, very satisfactory to us.

“When he came in, we asked him a few questions and all his answers matched what he had submitted,’’ Adepoju explained.

Adepoju also disclosed that more aspirant are expected to appear before the committee for the election. added that the committee report would be submitted to the party at the conclusion of the entire exercise.