Precious Nwonu, Enugu
The National Assembly is set to expand access to legislative information by translating Nigerian laws into major indigenous languages, including Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba.
The Executive Secretary of the National Assembly Library Trust Fund, Henry Nwawuba, 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 aimed at promoting legislative research, access to information and effective use of the National Assembly Library.
Nwawuba said the library was more than a collection of books, describing it as a key knowledge institution responsible for preserving parliamentary records and supporting legislative work.
He said efforts were underway to ensure lawmakers, legislative aides, researchers and other stakeholders could access authoritative records, including Order Papers, Votes and Proceedings, committee reports and Acts passed by the National Assembly.
According to him, the Trust Fund is investing in electronic repositories and upgrading the National Assembly’s e-library, while also developing a mobile application that will provide easier access to legislative information.
Nwawuba also announced plans for a Bills Tracker that would allow users to monitor bills and follow their progress through the legislative process.
He said the library was developing infographics, audiovisual materials and video explainers to make bills, Acts and legislative procedures easier for Nigerians to understand.
The planned translation of laws into indigenous languages, he added, would further widen access to legislation and help citizens understand laws affecting their daily lives.
Nwawuba said the library would also organise public policy dialogues to encourage greater citizen participation in public hearings and promote interaction between lawmakers, citizens, researchers and other stakeholders.
He explained that the initiatives were also designed to address inconsistencies in parliamentary records and prevent the circulation of fake or unauthorised National Assembly documents.
Akpabio Urges Lawmakers To Use Library
The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, represented at the event by Senator Osita Ngwu, urged lawmakers to make greater use of the National Assembly Library, particularly amid growing misinformation, disinformation and advances in artificial intelligence.
Akpabio described the library as an important link between knowledge, evidence and legislative decision-making and called for continued investment in its development.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, represented by the House Leader, Julius Ihonvbere, said parliamentary records were essential for preserving Nigeria’s legislative history and strengthening democratic governance.
Tajudeen said the effectiveness of a legislature should not be measured only by the laws it passes, but also by its ability to document proceedings, preserve institutional knowledge and make such information available to future generations.
He said technology and artificial intelligence could strengthen legislative research, preservation of records and public access, but stressed that their use must be guided by accuracy, security and professional judgment.
Clerk Warns Against Fake Parliamentary Documents
The Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, said the legislature could not be fully independent without the capacity to generate, preserve, retrieve and authenticate its institutional records.
Ogunlana identified the Order Paper, Votes and Proceedings and Hansard as important components of Nigeria’s democratic memory.
He warned against the circulation of incomplete, outdated, altered or unauthorised bills, Acts and other parliamentary documents, noting that digital technology had made it easier to manipulate and distribute such materials.
The Clerk stressed that the authenticity of an Act depended not only on the existence of a document but also on the ability to establish the authoritative version and the legal process through which it was enacted.
He cited the continued use of the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, LFN 2004, as an example of the challenges involved in maintaining an updated and authoritative collection of federal legislation.
According to him, the LFN 2004 reflected the laws covered by the relevant revision exercise and was not automatically updated whenever new legislation was passed.
Ogunlana said the National Assembly must strengthen cybersecurity, digital preservation, authentication systems, access controls, backups and staff training as parliamentary records become increasingly digitised.
He warned that while digitisation could make legislative information easier to access and search, it could also expose records to cyberattacks, manipulation and impersonation of official sources.
The Clerk called for digital platforms that are both accessible and secure, with electronic records maintained in a manner that ensures they remain available, authentic and traceable.
He said the National Assembly Library should evolve from simply storing documents into an institution that preserves, authenticates and provides access to parliamentary knowledge for lawmakers, researchers, journalists, civil society organisations, students and the wider public.
The President of the Nigerian Library Association, Lawal Umar, called for sustained investment in libraries and modern information technology to improve access to legislative information.
Umar also urged stronger collaboration between the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly.
The Secretary-General of the Conference of Speakers of African Legislatures, Debo Oyewale, said African legislatures could learn from one another in developing institutions capable of preserving legislative memory.
