integrity and competence. However, at the lower levels, the judiciary still remains weak and is highly dependent on the state and local governments for its budget. This exposes judges to corruption. 160. • The increasingly important role of the National Assembly in Nigeria is a major step forward in attempts to correct some of the institutional disequilibrium in democratic governance in Nigeria. The rejection of the attempt to extend the limits of the presidential term from two to three terms was a watershed event for the independence of the federal legislature in that it rejected a major demand by the executive. Moreover, the presidency accepted the outcome. State assemblies have also had their occasional moments of independence, but overall these moments have been far less frequent than at the national level. • Historically, Nigeria has enjoyed very visible and strong institutions of traditional leadership, and some religious leaders who sometimes exercise extraconstitutional power are overshadowing the formal elected structures and institutions of governance. However, the role of traditional leaders in electoral politics has been controversial, often inviting the rebuke of local citizens who would prefer the roles of such leaders to be confined strictly to the cultural and ceremonial domains. • The need to promote national integration and to address representation and power sharing in federal institutions was given constitutional backing in 1979 in terms of the Federal Character Principle. Subsequently, the Federal Character Commission (FCC) was established under the 1999 constitution with a mandate to monitor progress in the implementation of the provisions of the Federal Character Law. While assessments of the application of the Federal Character Principle at the political executive level and in the federal bureaucracy, the military and the educational sector would vary, there is broad consensus that it has striven to achieve a minimal level of interethnic and interregional equity, or at least proportionality in the composition of the government. While nation building and national integration in a highly diverse country like Nigeria are very much a work in progress, the Federal Character Principle has had some successes in creating inclusive institutions and broadening ethnic representation in the federal civil service and public sector. The country, including political leaders and the civilian population, is certainly awake to many of the challenges confronting democratic consolidation in Nigeria. These include the following: • 66 The Nigerian constitution reflects a skewed balance of power in favour of the executive at national and state levels as a result of overcentralisation during the military period, but also as a result of the nature of the political economy of the country, which centralises power, security and financial resources in the federal government. There is now a widely shared consensus that the country is in need of a number of constitutional reforms. A national dialogue has been going on regarding such reforms, and it is a positive sign that efforts are under way by both public and nonstate actors to refine the rules of governance in order to address some of the fundamental structural and institutional challenges blocking democratic development in Africa’s most populous country.