NASS may translate 1999 constitution to Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa

The National Assembly may translate Nigerian laws into Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba and other local languages as part of efforts to deepen the digitisation of parliamentary records and expand public access to legislative information.

The planned translation is expected to make laws that affect citizens’ daily lives easier to understand and give more Nigerians access to legislative information.

Executive Secretary, National Assembly Library Trust Fund, Henry Nwawuba, disclosed this yesterday while declaring open the 2026 National Assembly Library Week in Abuja.

The three-day programme, themed “Parliamentary Memory: Connecting Records, Legislation and the People,” is aimed at promoting legislative research, improving access to information and encouraging greater use of the resources of the National Assembly Library.

Nwawuba said the library was undertaking several digital initiatives to make parliamentary information easier to access, including the development of electronic repositories, an upgraded e-library and a mobile application for lawmakers, researchers, legislative aides and members of the public.

He said the library was also working on a Bills Tracker that would allow users to monitor bills from introduction through the various stages of the legislative process.

According to him, the library is developing infographics, audiovisual materials and video explainers to present bills, Acts and legislative procedures in simpler and more accessible formats.

Nwawuba said the library also planned to organise public policy dialogues to encourage citizens to participate more actively in public hearings and create opportunities for engagement between legislators and members of the public.

He said the various initiatives were aimed at making parliamentary information more accessible while addressing inconsistencies in official records and reducing the spread of fake or unauthorised National Assembly documents.

The Executive Secretary said the library was not simply a place for storing books and documents but an important part of the legislature’s knowledge system and a custodian of its institutional records.

He said it was working to ensure that lawmakers, legislative aides, researchers and other stakeholders could obtain reliable parliamentary documents, including Order Papers, Votes and Proceedings, committee reports and Acts passed by the National Assembly.

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, urged lawmakers to make better use of the library, particularly as misinformation, disinformation and artificial intelligence continued to reshape the way information was produced and shared.

Akpabio, who was represented by Senator Osita Ngwu, described the library as an important connection between evidence, knowledge and legislative decision-making, stressing the need for sustained investment in its development.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, represented by the House Leader, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, said properly preserved legislative records were essential for documenting Nigeria’s legislative history and strengthening democratic institutions.

Tajudeen said the effectiveness of a legislature should not be judged solely by the laws it passed but also by its ability to properly document its proceedings, preserve institutional knowledge and ensure that such records remained available to future generations.

He said emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, could enhance legislative research, records management and public access to information, but stressed that their use must be supported by accuracy, security and professional oversight.

The Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, said an effective legislature must have the capacity to create, preserve, retrieve and authenticate its records, describing such capacity as essential to parliamentary independence.

Ogunlana said the National Assembly Library had a responsibility to connect parliamentary records and legislation with the people, noting that transparency would be difficult to achieve if official records could not be easily located, understood and verified.

He identified the Order Paper, Votes and Proceedings and Hansard as important elements of Nigeria’s legislative memory, explaining that the Order Paper sets out the business scheduled for consideration by the legislature.

The Clerk expressed concern over the circulation of incomplete, outdated, altered and unauthorised legislative documents, saying the growth of digital technology had made it easier for such materials to be modified and widely distributed.

He said the authenticity of an Act could not be determined simply by the existence of a document, stressing the need to establish the correct version, its legal authority and the legislative process through which it was enacted.

Ogunlana also drew attention to the continued reliance on the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, LFN 2004, saying it illustrated the difficulty of maintaining a consolidated and up-to-date collection of federal laws.

He explained that the LFN 2004 covered legislation included in the revision exercise at the time and did not automatically incorporate subsequent laws passed by the National Assembly.

According to him, the increasing digitisation of parliamentary records also required stronger measures to protect them from cyber threats and unauthorised alterations.

He called for improved cybersecurity, digital preservation systems, secure authentication, access controls, regular backups and continuous training for personnel responsible for managing parliamentary records.

Ogunlana warned that although digitisation would make legislative information easier to search, access and distribute, it could also expose official records to cyberattacks, manipulation and the impersonation of legitimate sources.

He therefore called for digital platforms that were both accessible and secure, stressing that electronic parliamentary records must remain available, authentic and traceable.

The Clerk said the National Assembly Library should move beyond its traditional role as a repository of documents and become a centre for preserving, authenticating and sharing parliamentary knowledge with lawmakers, researchers, journalists, civil society organisations, students and the general public.

The President of the Nigerian Library Association, Dr Lawal Umar, called for increased investment in libraries and modern information technology to improve access to legislative information.

Umar also urged stronger cooperation between the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly in developing effective systems for managing and preserving legislative records.

The Secretary-General, Conference of Speakers of African Legislatures, Amb. Debo Oyewale, said African legislatures could benefit from sharing experiences and practices aimed at preserving legislative memory and strengthening parliamentary institutions.