The Nigerian National Assembly has announced plans to translate laws into local languages, including Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba, to make legislation more accessible to citizens. This move aims to enable more Nigerians to understand laws that affect their daily lives, particularly those who may struggle with legal information written in English. The initiative was disclosed by Henry Nwawuba, Executive Secretary of the National Assembly Library Trust Fund, during the 2026 National Assembly Library Week in Abuja.
The National Assembly Library Trust Fund is working to improve access to parliamentary information through various initiatives. A Bills Tracker and mobile app are being developed to enable users to follow bills and monitor their progress through the legislative process. The library is also upgrading its e-Library and investing in electronic repositories to make authoritative parliamentary records more accessible to lawmakers, legislative aides, researchers, and the public.
The National Assembly Library serves as the knowledge infrastructure of the legislature and a repository of parliamentary records. These records include Order Papers, Votes and Proceedings, committee reports, and Acts passed by the National Assembly. The library is also developing infographics, audiovisual materials, and video explainers to make Bills, Acts, and legislative procedures easier for Nigerians to understand.
The initiative is part of a wider plan to digitize and preserve National Assembly records. The library is planning public policy dialogues to encourage greater participation in public hearings and create more opportunities for interaction between legislators, citizens, researchers, and other stakeholders. This move is also aimed at addressing concerns over the circulation of incomplete, outdated, altered, or unauthorized versions of legislative documents.
Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, emphasized the importance of properly preserving, authenticating, and making parliamentary documents accessible. He warned that digital technology has made it easier for parliamentary documents to be altered and widely circulated, making stronger systems for digital preservation, cybersecurity, authentication, and access control necessary.
The National Assembly's proposed language initiative aligns with Nigeria's National Language Policy, which states that laws enacted at the federal level should be written in English and translated into Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, and other Nigerian languages of wider communication. The planned translations are part of the National Assembly's broader effort to digitize parliamentary records and expand public access to legislative information.
The 2026 National Assembly Library Week, themed "Parliamentary Memory: Connecting Records, Legislation and the People," focuses on promoting legislative research, improving access to information, and preserving Nigeria's parliamentary records. The three-day event aims to bring together stakeholders to discuss ways to improve access to legislative information and promote greater participation in public hearings.
Key points
- The National Assembly plans to translate laws into Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, and other local languages to increase accessibility and understanding of legislation.
- A Bills Tracker and mobile app are being developed to enable users to follow bills and monitor their progress through the legislative process.
- The initiative aims to address concerns over the circulation of incomplete, outdated, altered, or unauthorized versions of legislative documents.
