Since November 2013 when five states governors and their followers defected from the ruling PDP to the APC, there has been no love lost between Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, his political leader, Dr Bukola Saraki and the presidency.

Governor Ahmed was said to have rebuffed entreaties from the powers that be to part way with Saraki believed to have been the chief mastermind of the massive defection of notable political leaders from PDP to APC.

The punitive measures meted out to Kwara State after the defection saga clearly showed that Governor Ahmed had lost favour with the presidency.

The sudden dropping of the state to the bottom of the revenue allocation formula and the frustration of the government's effort to secure a bond from the capital market are some of the punitive measures meted out to Governor Ahmed for his defection to APC.

As if the above is not enough, the federal government has yet to refund the balance of N4 billion of what the state government expended on the construction of a strategic federal road in the state-the Kosubosu-Chikanda-Ilesha-Baruba road.

In view of the above, it therefore came to many as a surprise when President Jonathan on Monday, January 26 poured encomiums on Kwara State for being peaceful.

The president, who was in Ilorin in continuation of his campaign tour of the country, did not mince words in declaring Kwara as one of the safest states in the country where there is no problem of insecurity.

Jonathan was excited over the peaceful atmosphere in the state saying it has been encouraging for businesses and is among the states in the north where the issue of insecurity is at its minimal level.

But, the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji lbrahim Sulu-Gambari, urged President Jonathan to find ways of ending insurgency in some parts of the country noting that no meaningful development could be attained in an atmosphere of chaos and acrimony.

The traditional ruler prayed for successful poll and for peace, unity and progress to reign in the country.

President Jonathan's position was corroborated by the minister of National Planning, Dr Abubakar Suleiman, at a news conference he addressed in the evening of Jan. 26 in Ilorin.

Suleiman, an indigene of Ilorin, was happy that the PDP rally in the state was conducted under a peaceful atmosphere.

This development, according to the minister, showed that Kwarans are brothers, irrespective of political affiliation.

He used the forum to roll out a number of ongoing federal government projects in the state.

However, President Jonathan and the minister's accolades on Kwara's peaceful atmosphere did not come to the APC's leader in the state, Dr Bukola Saraki, as a surprise.

Saraki, during an interview with newsmen in Afon, Asa local govt area on the same January 26, said that it is bound to be peace in the state because, according to him, "We have in place a government which prioritises justice and equity.

"Mr. president's pouring of accolades on Kwara State in the area of peace and security of lives and property is also a plus for the APC government in Kwara State. It's the state government that makes the environment peaceful through the implementation of people- centered programmes and policies.

"If things are not done properly or people's expectations are not met, there will be agitation which will eventually lead to restiveness. But thank God, in Kwara, we have a government that has passion for meeting the yearning and aspiration of the people".

President Goodluck Jonathan, however, knocked critics of his economic policies and style of government and challenged them to refute the accuracy of a recent report aired by the international cable network, CNN, on the state of the Nigerian economy.

He said that contrary to the wishes of some people, he cannot run the nation as a 'zoological garden' where some wild animals rule others by intimidation.

He promised to reclaim Kwara for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) saying the party's mandate was 'taken away' by those now in the All Progressive Congress (APC) but expressed delight that the PDP is now being properly rebuilt in the state.

He said: "We don't want to run a government by intimidation; I signed the FoI Bill, and promised that every Nigerian will be free. I want every Nigerian to be free; we don't want to intimidate anybody; we want you to have the ability to express yourself without any fear of intimidation.

"We don't encourage our leaders to intimidate the followers where people will be living as if they are in the zoo and the lions and leopard are moving freely and all the other animals have to go into hiding, no. That is not a government, Nigeria is not a zoological garden, Nigeria is not a forest. Nigeria is a country governed by laws and conventions, a country where citizens must be free and where every citizen must be able to grow to the level that he or she so desires.

"And some people talk about the economy. The economy you all know has become the largest in Africa after the rebasing, it was not by chance, we worked with the private sector... . few days ago, CNN announced that Nigeria has joined other nations where the economy will blossom. If CNN can say that whom is the economist in Nigeria that says that what the world has seen about Nigeria is not true? Who is the economist that can tell me that he is superior to the World Bank, the economist in the World Bank?