The National Assembly is set to translate Nigerian laws into major indigenous languages, including Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba, as part of efforts to make legislative information more accessible to Nigerians.
The initiative was disclosed by the Executive Secretary of the National Assembly Library Trust Fund, Henry Nwawuba, in Abuja while declaring open the 2026 National Assembly Library Week.
The three-day event, themed “Parliamentary Memory: Connecting Records, Legislation and the People,” is aimed at promoting legislative research, access to information and effective use of the National Assembly Library.
Nwawuba described the library as an important knowledge centre of the legislature and a repository for parliamentary records, including Order Papers, Votes and Proceedings, committee reports and Acts passed by the National Assembly.
He said the Trust Fund was investing in electronic repositories and upgrading the National Assembly’s E-Library. He added that plans were also underway to develop a mobile application that would make legislative information easier for lawmakers, staff, researchers and members of the public to access.
The library is also developing a Bills Tracker that will enable users to monitor bills and follow their progress through the legislative process.
According to Nwawuba, the library plans to produce infographics, audiovisual materials and video explainers to simplify bills, Acts and legislative procedures for the public.
He said translating laws into indigenous languages would help more Nigerians understand legislation that affects their daily lives and improve public access to parliamentary information.
The National Assembly Library Trust Fund also plans to organise public policy dialogues to encourage greater citizen participation in public hearings and strengthen interaction between lawmakers, researchers and members of the public.
Representing Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Senator Osita Ngwu urged lawmakers to make greater use of the library, particularly at a time when misinformation, disinformation and artificial intelligence are rapidly changing the information environment.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, represented by the House Leader, Julius Ihonvbere, also stressed the importance of preserving legislative records for future generations.
The Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, said the legislature could not achieve genuine institutional independence without the ability to generate, preserve, retrieve and authenticate its knowledge and records.
Ogunlana, however, noted that the digitisation of parliamentary records also comes with risks, including cyberattacks, manipulation and impersonation. He called for stronger cybersecurity, digital preservation and authentication systems.
He said
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