breakup of the powerful NNPC. More importantly, the bill aims to clearly divide regulatory and commercial activities and create a number of new agencies. It also would change the fiscal regime for the sector. The oil industry opposes the bill in its current form because it would create significant uncertainty for the industry,for instance, by not specifying in detail the new fiscal regime. NEITI, in principle, would be well placed to support the passage of the bill, as NEITI audits provide independent evidence for the need for many of the reforms envisaged under the bill.

# **Improvements in the Judiciary**

109. The judiciary has shown that with appropriate reforms and good leadership, checks and balances can be restored between the three arms of government. The 1999 Constitution establishes a National Judicial Council (NJC), which is a clearing house for the appointment of judges. At the federal level, it collects and disburses the judiciary‘s budget. Consequently, the judiciary is more insulated from manipulation by the executive using budgetary control. The judiciary‘s leadership has taken advantage of these reforms to express its independence. It has decided against the government in some landmark cases. The NJC is empowered to sanction erring judges, a power it has exercised effectively to instill discipline in the judiciary. Several judges at the federal and state levels have been dismissed because of complaints by aggrieved parties.<sup>31</sup> 110. A number of important cases highlight that Nigeria‘s court system has started to go against the government and the political level in general when they have legal justification to do so. The judiciary has, for example, supported a state when it had not received statutory funding from the federal level and it has reacted against the executive‘s misuse of power to allocate and reallocate political positions. When the federal level demanded that states make returns of expenditure of local funds to a federal agency, the judiciary nullified the arrangement. The judiciary has kept opportunities open for political candidates who have been disqualified unjustly by the election committee. These important developments have occurred despite incentives in Nigerian politics.

# **Reform Prospects**

111. The likelihood of success of reform initiatives must be considered in light of a still very weak democracy and the resilience of the pro-reform activists in Nigeria. Their relentless struggles forced the military back into the barracks and ensured return to civil democratic rule in 1999. Even though they were politically ousted subsequently by strategic failure to directly contest for power, they remain influential because of the attractiveness of the role they envision for Nigeria in regional and global affairs.

112. The government is striving to ensure effective monitoring of the formulation and implementation of state development plans and budgets. Seizing the window of opportunity provided by the incessant requests by the states to draw from the excess crude account, the National Planning Commission (NPC) had proposed a scheme for monitoring and evaluating state expenditures. The Nigerian Governors Forum proactively embraced the review concept but opted to carry it out independently of the NPC. This has been approved by the National Council of State 38