National Assembly to Translate Laws into Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba and Expand Digital Access

# What the National Assembly announced

Nigerian laws easier to find and understand. The Library Trust Fund announced a set of measures aiming to widen public access to parliamentary records and to simplify legislative content for citizens, lawmakers, aides and researchers.

# Concrete steps being taken

• Translate laws into Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba and other local languages so more people can read laws that affect daily life.
• Deepen digitisation by developing electronic repositories and upgrading the e-library.
• Build a mobile app to give lawmakers, staff, researchers and the public easier access to legislative information.
• Create a Bills Tracker so users can follow how far bills have progressed through the law-making process.
• Produce infographics, audio-visual materials and video explainers to make bills, Acts and procedures easier to understand.
• Host public policy dialogues to increase citizen participation in public hearings and create interactions among lawmakers, citizens and researchers.

# Why the changes are being made

# Who spoke and what they said at the event

Henry Nwawuba, Executive Secretary of the National Assembly Library Trust Fund, presented the plans while opening the 2026 National Assembly Library Week in Abuja. The event theme was "Parliamentary Memory: Connecting Records, Legislation and the People." Nwawuba outlined the digitisation work, the app and Bills Tracker plans, and the move to produce visual and audio explainers.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio addressed the event through Senator Osita Ngwu, who urged increased library use during a period of rising misinformation and rapid technological change. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, was represented by House Leader Prof Julius Ihonvbere, who spoke about the importance of legislative records for understanding the history of law-making.

# Expected user benefits

• Non-English readers will be able to consult laws in major Nigerian languages.
• Citizens will have clearer, easier-to-navigate summaries of bills and Acts through visual and audio formats.
• Researchers and stakeholders will have a centralised digital repository and tracking tools for legislative progress.
• Public engagement in hearings and policy dialogue will be facilitated by scheduled outreach and dialogue events.

# What to watch next

Look for public launches or pilot releases of the mobile app, the Bills Tracker and the translated law texts. Monitoring how translations and explainers are implemented will be important for assessing whether they increase accurate public understanding and reduce circulation of unauthorised documents.