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The National Assembly plans to translate Nigerian laws into Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba and other local languages as part of efforts to make legislative information more accessible to the public.
Henry Nwawuba, Executive Secretary of the National Assembly Library Trust Fund, disclosed this on Monday 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 focused on promoting legislative research, access to information and the effective use of National Assembly Library resources.
Nwawuba said the initiative would complement the National Assembly’s broader digitisation programme, which includes electronic repositories, an upgraded E-Library, a proposed mobile application and a Bills Tracker.
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National Assembly plans wider access to laws
According to Nwawuba, the planned translation of laws into local languages is intended to help more Nigerians understand legislation that affects their daily lives.
He said the library was also developing infographics, audiovisual materials and video explainers to simplify Bills, Acts and legislative procedures for members of the public.
The National Assembly Library Trust Fund Executive Secretary said the library was being positioned as more than a collection of books, describing it as the “knowledge infrastructure of the legislature and a repository of parliamentary records.”
He said the library was working to ensure that lawmakers, legislative aides, researchers and other stakeholders could access authoritative parliamentary records, including Order Papers, Votes and Proceedings, committee reports and Acts passed by the National Assembly.
Nwawuba also announced plans for a Bills Tracker that would allow users to follow bills and monitor their progress through the legislative process.
He said the library would organise public policy dialogues to encourage greater citizen participation in public hearings and create more opportunities for interaction among legislators, citizens, researchers and other stakeholders.
According to him, the initiatives are also intended to address inconsistencies in official parliamentary documents and the circulation of fake or unauthorised copies of National Assembly records.
National Assembly highlights need for authentic records
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, represented by Senator Osita Ngwu, urged lawmakers to make greater use of the library, particularly amid rising misinformation, disinformation and the rapid development of artificial intelligence.
Akpabio described the library as a critical link between evidence, knowledge and legislative decision-making and called for continued support for its development.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, represented by the House Leader, Julius Ihonvbere, said legislative records were essential to preserving Nigeria’s legislative history and strengthening democratic governance.
Tajudeen said the strength of a legislature should be measured not only by the laws it enacted but also by how effectively it documented its activities, preserved institutional knowledge and made such information available to future generations.
He said technology and artificial intelligence could improve legislative research, records preservation and access to information, but their adoption must be guided by accuracy, security and professional judgment.
Local languages gain ground in public information
The National Assembly’s planned translation of laws comes amid broader efforts by government institutions to make official information more accessible to Nigerians through local languages.
Nairametrics reported in July 2026 that the Office of the Tax Ombud planned to unveil a Taxpayer Bill of Rights translated into three major Nigerian languages to improve public awareness and enable taxpayers to better understand and defend their rights.
The Federal Government has also introduced a multilingual digital platform.
In May 2026, Nairametrics reported that GovGuideNigeria, an AI-powered platform for accessing government information, was made available in English, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba to help bridge language and information gaps.
