The Chartered Institute of Project Managers of Nigeria (CIPMN) has estimated the total number of abandoned projects across the country to be N17 trillion.
The Registrar of the Institute, Henry Mbadiwe, who disclosed this yesterday in Abuja, blamed the development on a lack of articulated vision and objectives, lack of proper project planning from the onset, lack of proper budgetary allocation for the projects, an inefficient legal system, corruption, compromises, and weak institutions.
The Registrar, however, warned that the days of unlicensed project managers overseeing projects in Nigeria are over, stressing that the body will no longer tolerate such infractions.
Noting that those who do so will face serious consequences, Mbadiwe’s warning hinged on the law establishing CIPMN, which stipulates that everyone within the public and private sectors who heads, leads, or teaches any aspect of project management in Nigeria must be licensed to practise the profession.
“It is not a suggestion; it is the law, and I think it is high time we started obeying laws in this country,” he said, decrying that blatant disregard for laws with impunity remains the country’s major challenge.
“While I may not have control over all sectors, I can assure you that in the project management sector, we are committed to upholding the law and ensuring that all project managers are licensed and accountable for their actions.
“A couple of years ago, CIPMN worked with the National University Commission (NUC) to design the first-ever Project Management Curriculum for Nigerian universities as part of the Core Curriculum Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS) upgraded program.
“This means that universities in Nigeria now have a foundation for running project management BSc degree courses, which is the first time in the country’s history that this has been done.
“We are also working with forward-thinking organisations such as the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) to create a Project Management Standard for Nigeria, the second of its kind in Africa.”
Warning that Nigeria cannot grow in an atmosphere where people work in silos and everyone is thinking about immediate benefits to themselves, he held that people cannot continue to build, spend, and budget without proper planning and still expect the country to grow.
Citing instances of abandoned projects littering the country, he expressed dissatisfaction that abandoning projects has become the order of the day without any solution in sight.
He, however, assured that his institution would take the matter up with all projects embarked on in Nigeria, where the law requires that those leading these projects be professional project managers licensed by CIPMN.
“While we are happy to collaborate with foreign project management bodies operating in Nigeria, we will not allow the idea that the laws establishing CIPMN can be dismissed offhand.
“We will pursue any member practising project management in Nigeria without the CIPMN license and every institution encouraging its members to ignore the law establishing CIPMN in Nigeria.
“We will pursue every organization, whether local or international, operating in Nigeria that has individuals leading projects in Nigeria without the CIPMN license as required by law, and we will definitely hold ourselves to the highest possible standards in Nigeria and ensure that the regulation of this sector is done dispassionately without prejudice,” Mbadiwe stated.
He further urged all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of government to take the call seriously, stressing that enforcement will start in earnest in the first quarter of 2025.
CREDIT: GUARDIAN
