We’ll ensure all projects in Nigeria are handled by licensed managers- Mbadiwe, CIPMN boss

Register-General of the Chartered Institute of Project Management of Nigeria (CIPMN), Mr Henry Mbadiwe, speaks on the role of the institution in assisting the government to address Nigeria’s infrastructure gap, especially on the project’s execution in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Federal Government, in this interview with Anthony Otaru

How helpful is CIPMN in addressing Nigeria’s infrastructural gaps?

If you talk about infrastructure, you are talking about physical projects that individuals or companies deliver, and project handlers must have a specific skill set to deliver. One of the problems we see in Nigeria is that projects fail not only because the money is insufficient but also due to poor planning. You think something will cost N1, but in fact, it’s costing N5; by the time you start with that N1, you get stocked, you begin to see things you didn’t expect, and before you know it, the project is stalled before you know it, no more funds to continue and you have the project being abandoned. Hence, CIPMN is in a position to ensure that a licensed project manager handles every project in this country and that ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) take planning and risk management into consideration. One may ask, how many project managers do we have today in the public service? Almost none; the MDAs don’t even have a project management cadre to start with, so you can see that you may find it difficult if you don’t have such an important department that could manage the projects. This is why we need to take our Act seriously.

What is CIPMN, and when was it established?

CIPMN is a Federal Government regulatory agency under the supervision of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment. The institute was established by Act Nos 3 of 2028 Gazette, Nos 15 volume 105, and signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari. It has the mandate to regulate, supervise, license, certify, and withdraw licenses of project managers in Nigeria. It is also an institute engaged in helping government, Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs), and the private sector to profile professional project management solutions. We are new and unknown, so we are trying to partner with the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and other human capital development agencies; from there, we can spread using the media. We are appealing to different agencies to work with us. CIPMN is the only project management regulatory body in Nigeria. We regulate project delivery to ensure only professionals are engaged in Nigeria. When a project fails, a project manager must be held responsible and find out why it happened, not just the company. We are out to hold people accountable for failures, and the only way you can do that is when a proper structure for project delivery is put in place from the start. You can track if somebody steals or cheats, and it will be discovered immediately.

What is CIPMN doing to enforce the law to address quackery in the sector?

Enforcing this law is complex; it must be done in collaboration with MDAs. We have already taken steps to work with various organizations, including the Bureau of Public Procurement [BPP], to ensure no one gets a contract to deliver projects for Nigeria if the institute does not license you. We are also working with the office of the Special Adviser on Policy and Head of the Central Delivery Project Unit, Hadeza Bala Usman (they monitor the Federal Government projects across the country). In fact, during our last induction, about 17 of her staff participated and got inducted, and they are going through our project management training as we speak. This means they will get licensed by the end of the year. When people like that take us seriously, things will improve. We also have other organizations delivering projects, such as the Standard Organisation of Nigeria; we are partnering with them to train all their directors, and as we speak, the CIPMN management training is being put into the backbone of the growth of their staff to be taught with the required management skills. To address quackery, we need to integrate many MDAs to ensure they are well-trained and have the skill sets with the skill-up programme we’re running for the ITF. Project management elements have been introduced into artisan training in Nigeria. Mr. President and the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment in collaboration with CIPMN, came together to design the programme. You can see today it’s doing fine. Artisans, for the first time, are beginning to understand planning, risk management, change control, and stakeholder management, among others. These are things they never knew before, and very soon, when we start enforcing the Act, we will begin calling out agencies that had refused us earlier; some of them are even agencies within our ministry. It should be noted that when we stand with the media to say that we have approached this organization but refused to listen and contravened our Act, they will know where we are coming from. All things being equal, by next year, 2025, we will commence enforcement and call out organisations that do not want to obey the Act. Right now, for everybody managing a project in Nigeria and all those leading projects in Nigeria, the Act says CIPMN must license you before you’re qualified to manage such projects. Failures mean you are contravening the Act, and you’re bound to face the consequences.

How do you qualify for the training and become a member?

You need a first degree. Fill out the interest form, attach your CV, one passport photograph, evidence of registration payments, and other relevant documents, and submit it to the institute.