Nigeria: National Assembly to digitise records, translate laws into local languages

The National Assembly has announced plans for the digitisation of parliamentary records, as well as translate Nigerian laws into Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo and other local languages.

It said the move will expand public access to legislative information as part of efforts to preserve the country’s democratic memory.

Executive Secretary of the National Assembly Library Trust Fund, Henry Nwawuba made the disclosure, while declaring open the 2026 National Assembly Library Week, themed; “Parliamentary Memory: Connecting Records, Legislation and the People.”

Nwawuba said the three-day programme was designed as an annual platform to promote legislative research, access to information and effective utilisation of the resources of the National Assembly Library.

According to him, the library was “more than a collection of books, as it serves as the knowledge infrastructure of the legislature and a repository of parliamentary records, legislative information, research materials and the institutional memory of Nigeria’s democratic journey.”

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, represented by Sen. Osita Ngwu urged members of the National Assembly to make greater use of the library, “particularly in this era of increasing misinformation, disinformation and the rapid development of artificial intelligence.”

On his part, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, who was represented by the  Majority Leader, Julius Ihonvbere, said legislative records were essential to understanding Nigeria’s legislative history, and strengthening democratic governance.