<P> Abacha died of heart failure on 8 June 1998 and was replaced by General Abdulsalami Abubakar . The military Provisional Ruling Council (PRC) under Abubakar commuted the sentences of those accused in the alleged coup during the Abacha regime and released almost all known civilian political detainees . Pending the promulgation of the constitution written in 1995, the government observed some provisions of the 1979 and 1989 constitutions . Neither Abacha nor Abubakar lifted the decree suspending the 1979 constitution, and the 1989 constitution was not implemented . The judiciary system continued to be hampered by corruption and lack of resources after Abacha's death . In an attempt to alleviate such problems Abubakar's government implemented a civil service pay raise and other reforms . </P> <P> In August 1998 Abubakar appointed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct elections for local government councils, state legislatures and governors, the national assembly, and president . The NEC successfully held elections on 5 December 1998, 9 January 1999, 20 February, and 27 February 1999, respectively . For local elections nine parties were granted provisional registration with three fulfilling the requirements to contest the following elections . These parties were the People's Democratic Party (PDP), the All People's Party (APP), and the predominantly Yoruba Alliance for Democracy (AD). Former military head of state Olusegun Obasanjo, freed from prison by Abubakar, ran as a civilian candidate and won the presidential election . The PRC promulgated a new constitution based largely on the suspended 1979 constitution, before the 29 May 1999 inauguration of the new civilian president . The constitution includes provisions for a bicameral legislature, the National Assembly consisting of a 360 - member House of Representatives and a 109 - member Senate . </P> <P> The emergence of democracy in Nigeria on May 1999 ended 16 years of consecutive military rule . Olusegun Obasanjo inherited a country suffering economic stagnation and the deterioration of most democratic institutions . Obasanjo, a former general, was admired for his stand against the Abacha dictatorship, his record of returning the federal government to civilian rule in 1979, and his claim to represent all Nigerians regardless of religion . </P> <P> The new President took over a country that faced many problems, including a dysfunctional bureaucracy, collapsed infrastructure, and a military that wanted a reward for returning quietly to the barracks . The President moved quickly and retired hundreds of military officers holding political positions, established a blue - ribbon panel to investigate human rights violations, released scores of persons held without charge, and rescinded numerous questionable licenses and contracts left by the previous regimes . The government also moved to recover millions of dollars in funds secreted to overseas accounts . </P>

The historical background of the formation of nigeria as a nation state