National Assembly to make Nigerian laws available in local languages

The National Assembly Library Trust Fund, led by Executive Secretary Henry Nwawuba, is preparing to translate Nigerian laws into Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba and other local languages as part of a wider effort to make legislation easier for citizens to access and understand.

Nwawuba disclosed the plan on Monday in Abuja while declaring open the 2026 National Assembly Library Week, themed, “Parliamentary Memory: Connecting Records, Legislation and the People.”

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The initiative forms part of a broader digitisation programme that includes an upgraded National Assembly E-Library, a proposed mobile application and a Bills Tracker designed to allow users to follow legislation through the parliamentary process.

Nwawuba said the library was also developing infographics, audiovisual materials and video explainers to simplify Bills, Acts and legislative procedures for the public.

He said translating legislation into local languages would help more Nigerians understand laws that directly affect their lives and broaden access to parliamentary information beyond those who can easily navigate formal legal documents.

The three-day library week is intended to promote legislative research, access to information and greater use of the National Assembly’s documentary resources.

Nwawuba described the library as the knowledge infrastructure of the legislature and a repository of parliamentary records, including Order Papers, Votes and Proceedings, committee reports and Acts passed by the National Assembly.

The planned translation programme is part of a wider attempt to bridge the gap between legislative institutions and citizens.

The Trust Fund also plans to organise public policy dialogues aimed at encouraging greater participation in public hearings and creating opportunities for legislators, researchers and citizens to engage on issues before Parliament.

Another objective is to reduce confusion caused by incomplete, outdated, altered or unauthorised versions of parliamentary documents circulating online and elsewhere.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio, represented at the event by Senator Osita Ngwu, urged lawmakers to make greater use of the National Assembly Library, particularly amid the growing influence of artificial intelligence and the spread of misinformation and disinformation.

Akpabio described the library as an important link between evidence, knowledge and legislative decision-making and called for continued investment in its development.

House of Representatives Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, represented by House Leader Julius Ihonvbere, similarly stressed the importance of preserving legislative records as part of Nigeria’s institutional memory.

Tajudeen said the effectiveness of a legislature should not be judged only by the laws it passes, but also by how well it documents its work, preserves institutional knowledge and makes that information available to future generations.

He noted that technology and artificial intelligence could strengthen legislative research, records preservation and public access, while stressing the need for accuracy, security and professional judgement.

The Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, said parliamentary independence depended partly on the institution’s ability to generate, preserve, retrieve and authenticate its records.

Ogunlana said documents such as the Order Paper, Votes and Proceedings and Hansard form an important part of Nigeria’s democratic memory.

He explained that the Order Paper sets out the agenda for legislative business, while other records provide an account of parliamentary proceedings and decisions.

The Clerk also raised concerns about the authenticity of legislative documents circulating in the digital environment.

He warned that technology could make it easier for incomplete, outdated, altered or unauthorised Bills and Acts to be distributed as genuine parliamentary documents.

According to Ogunlana, the National Assembly therefore needs stronger cybersecurity, digital preservation systems, secure authentication, access controls, backup arrangements and continuous staff training as parliamentary records become increasingly digitised.

He also pointed to the continued use of the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, LFN 2004, as an example of the challenges involved in maintaining an authoritative and current body of federal legislation.

Ogunlana explained that the LFN 2004 reflected the laws covered by its revision exercise and was not automatically updated whenever a new Act was subsequently enacted.

The proposed digital systems are intended to make legislative information easier to find while also helping users establish which documents are official and authoritative.

For ordinary Nigerians, however, the planned local-language translations could become one of the most significant aspects of the initiative.

Laws governing taxation, education, health, employment, business, land, public administration and other areas of daily life can be difficult to understand even when they are available in English.

Providing accessible explanations and translations could therefore give more citizens a clearer route to understanding their legal rights and obligations.

The initiative also places greater emphasis on making Parliament’s records useful beyond lawmakers and legislative staff.

Ogunlana said the National Assembly Library should evolve from a place where documents are simply stored into an institution where parliamentary knowledge is preserved, authenticated and made accessible to lawmakers, researchers, journalists, civil society organisations, students and the wider public.

The President of the Nigerian Library Association, Dr Lawal Umar, called for sustained investment in libraries and information technology, while encouraging stronger collaboration between the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly.

The Secretary-General of the Conference of Speakers of African Legislatures, Ambassador Debo Oyewale, also called for greater exchange of experience among African legislatures in preserving legislative memory.

The National Assembly’s planned local-language laws programme consequently forms part of a larger effort to make Parliament’s work more accessible, traceable and understandable.

Its success will depend not only on the availability of translations, but also on the accuracy of those translations, the reliability of the digital platforms carrying them and the ability of citizens to distinguish authoritative parliamentary information from altered or unofficial material.

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If successfully implemented, the programme could provide more Nigerians with a practical way to understand the laws that shape their everyday lives while strengthening the connection between Parliament’s records and the people it serves.