Niger Assembly has no website. It’s limiting residents’ access to information

Nigeria is investing in Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to improve how citizens interact with the government through foundational systems such as digital identity, digital payments and secure data exchange.

These systems are designed to make public services more efficient, enable trusted exchange of information across institutions and improve access to government services.

The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, has described DPI as the modern-day equivalent of roads, electricity and other public utilities, arguing that it can rebuild trust in government, empower citizens and accelerate economic growth across Africa.

Yet while Nigeria is laying the digital rails for public service delivery, one of its key democratic institutions in Niger State remains largely disconnected from that transformation.

Twenty-seven years after Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999, the Niger State House of Assembly still has no official website where citizens can access bills, committee reports, voting records and other legislative documents.

The absence goes beyond a missing website. Experts say it raises a broader question about whether Nigeria can build inclusive digital public infrastructure while one of its core democratic institutions remains digitally inaccessible.

Ali Sabo, Digital Rights Lead at the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), said legislative institutions should actively engage in Nigeria’s emerging DPI landscape.

“If the objective of DPI is to improve public service delivery, strengthen state-citizen relations, and promote inclusive development, then democratic institutions, including legislatures, must also be part of the conversation,” he said.

Mr Sabo noted that legislatures perform critical democratic functions through lawmaking, oversight of government activities, approval of public spending and representation of citizens. He argued that legislative digital platforms complement other components of DPI by enabling citizens to monitor and engage with democratic processes.

“Just as digital identity systems enable citizens to prove who they are and digital payment systems facilitate economic transactions, legislative digital platforms enable citizens to access, monitor, and engage with democratic processes,” he added.

A story abandoned because records were offline

In 2024, a Minna-based journalist, Ibrahim Ndamitso, began investigating a bill proposing the establishment of a School of Nursing and Midwifery in Suleja, a Niger town bordering Abuja.

The proposal, he said, was publicised on the Assembly’s official Facebook page. But when he attempted to obtain the bill and supporting legislative documents, Mr Ndamitso said he found no digital records.

He explained that the plan came at a time when funding for existing institutions was shrinking “due to poor allocation,” adding that he wanted to understand the justification for creating another school.

Unable to verify the proposal or trace its legislative journey, he abandoned the investigation.

“Access to information remains the fuel for every journalist and anytime it becomes selective the story is abandoned,” he said. “With the increasing insecurity and cost of transportation, journalists go online to access information, and for the state assembly to be completely absent online is an indication that the assembly is not committed to opening its books for the public.”

He said he was aware that the proposal for the assembly’s website was introduced during the 10th assembly between 2023 and 2024, but he could not determine how far it progressed because there was no publicly accessible legislative record.

“I don’t know whether funds were released or whether the proposal advanced, because there is simply no way for citizens to verify those details online,” he said.

DPI is more than identity and payments

Around the world, DPI is commonly associated with digital identity, payment systems and trusted data exchange. But digital governance researchers argue that DPI should also include the public-facing systems through which citizens interact with democratic institutions.

For legislatures, that means more than having an official website. It means maintaining searchable databases of bills, committee reports, legislative calendars, voting records, public hearing notices and archives that allow citizens to monitor lawmaking, understand how public decisions are made and hold elected representatives accountable.

Experts argue that these systems form part of the digital infrastructure that enables democratic participation because they reduce barriers to public information and allow citizens to engage the government without depending on personal connections or physical visits.

DPI is digital capabilities that are essential for participation in society. Such infrastructure should be inclusive, foundational, interoperable and publicly accountable, according to Co-Develop.

By this standard, the absence of a digital legislative information platform in the Niger State House of Assembly raises questions about whether citizens can fully participate in democratic governance when access to laws, debates and legislative records depends largely on physical visits and informal channels.

Unlike the National Assembly and several state legislatures that maintain official websites with varying levels of legislative information, Niger State’s legislature has no searchable online repository of bills, debates, committee reports or voting records.

That disconnect creates practical consequences for both journalists and citizens.

Yunusa Umar, another journalist who reports on governance in Niger State, believes the impact extends well beyond the newsroom.

“In my opinion, the absence of an official website for the Niger State House of Assembly is a major setback for transparency and public participation in governance,” he said.

“In today’s digital age, citizens deserve easy access to information about laws, motions, budgets, and the activities of their elected representatives,” Mr Umar added.

He said the lack of a digital platform has widened the communication gap between lawmakers and citizens.

“Because there is no functional online platform, many Nigerlites remain unaware of what happens inside the Assembly,” he said. “This has created a communication gap between lawmakers and the people, reduced accountability, encouraged misinformation, and limited youth engagement in governance.”

“A standard website would not only improve transparency but also preserve legislative records, provide updates to the public, and project a more modern and responsible image of the assembly. Democracy works better when the people are informed, and a functional website is one of the simplest ways to achieve that,” he said.

Access to information still depends on physical processes

The absence of digital legislative infrastructure also affects citizens seeking public information.

Arguing that journalists could go far in seeking information for their reports, Mr Umar raised concerns about hindrances citizens could face.

“For us journalists, the situation is a bit fair because we could file FOI requests,” he said. “But it is not the same with ordinary citizens who may not have much time to go through these physical processes.”

Although Nigeria’s Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2011 provides a legal framework for accessing government records, obtaining legislative documents from an institution without proactive digital disclosure often requires physical visits, written requests and lengthy administrative processes.

Lawyers argue that meaningful access to public information increasingly depends on governments publishing records proactively through digital platforms rather than waiting for citizens to request them.

“All public institutions are required to publish their records as widely as they can, and the only way they can effectively do that in this digital age is through digital means,” Abdullah Tijani, an Abuja-based constitutional lawyer, said. “So it’s not just a matter of transparency, it’s also a matter of statutory obligation.”

The lawyer said if public institutions want to abide by the provisions of section two of the FOI Act, they have to maintain digital records of their information. The section mandates public institutions to ensure transparency and accountability without waiting for a formal request. It requires agencies to proactively record, maintain and publish details about their activities, finances and operations for public access.

The situation also appears inconsistent with Nigeria’s broader digital governance commitments. The National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) encourages the digitisation of public institutions to improve transparency, efficiency and citizen engagement. Similarly, Nigeria’s commitments under the Open Government Partnership (OGP) emphasise openness, accountability and public participation in governance.

Governance experts say legislatures cannot remain outside these reforms if governments hope to build truly inclusive Digital Public Infrastructure.

“Accountability is weakened when citizens, journalists, civil society organisations and researchers cannot easily monitor the activities of elected representatives,” Mr Sabo said. “Digital platforms create permanent and searchable records of government actions, making it easier to assess performance and hold public officials accountable.”

When contacted, the spokesperson of the Niger State House of Assembly, Ruqayyah Tanko, acknowledged that the legislature currently has no official website but said work was ongoing to establish one.

“There is a proposal for the assembly to have its own website,” she said. However, Ms Tanko did not provide a timeline for its completion.

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Mr Ndamisto, the Minna-based journalist, advised the leadership of the Assembly to “build a simple online platform that provides up-to-date information on bills, debates, proceedings and decisions of the House.”

“Legislative records are not only for journalists,” he said. “Researchers, investors and citizens across the world may need to understand how the Assembly works.”

Mr Sabo urged the governments to recognise parliamentary websites and legislative transparency platforms as critical public infrastructure

“In the digital age, access to legislative information is not a luxury; it is a democratic necessity,” he said. “These platforms should not be viewed merely as public relations tools but as essential infrastructure that enables citizens to exercise their democratic rights.”

This report is produced under the DPI Africa Journalism Fellowship Programme of the Media Foundation for West Africa and Co-Develop.