CIPMN Licenses Over 500 New Members, Advocates Professional Project Management

CIPMN Licenses Over 500 New Members, Advocates Professional Project Management

JOEL OLADELE, Abuja

The 2024 Annual Project Management Conference, Induction, and Annual General Meeting of the Chartered Institute of Project Managers of Nigeria (CIPMN) took center stage in Abuja on Wednesday, as the regulatory body licensed over 500 new members and emphasized the importance of certified project management in diverse sectors across the nation.

The event, themed “Project Management: The Universal Language,” highlighted the critical role project management plays beyond traditional domains such as construction and engineering, extending into fields like healthcare, education, and financial services.

Speaking with journalists, the Registrar of CIPMN, Mr. Henry Ifenayi Mbadiwe, spoke candidly on the significance of the new inductees.

“We are handing over certificates of membership and licenses to close to 500 individuals today—a monumental task for this council, which was only inaugurated less than two years ago. In just one year, we have boasted nearly 1,000 project managers in Nigeria, making this a remarkable achievement,” he said.

Mr. Mbadiwe emphasized the necessity of adopting project management principles in every initiative in Nigeria, stating, “It doesn’t matter whether it is in construction, financial services, or healthcare; as long as you create something new, you need to imbibe project management practices for proper delivery.”

The Registrar also outlined the institute’s collaborative efforts with various agencies to raise academic standards in project management education. He noted,

“We have a lot of collaborations. First of all, CIPMN created the first ever core curriculum and a new academic standard for studying project management BSc in the university. That we did with the National University Commission (NUC). CIPMN has also created the first ever project management curriculum with artisans. We did that with the Industrial Training Fund (ITF).

“CIPMN is also collaborating with the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) to create the very first project management standard for Nigeria.

“Cameroon is the only country in Africa that has a project management standard and now Nigeria will follow. The technical committee was set up by the Director General of SON, Dr. Ifeanyi Okeke and CIPMN has been working closely with SON to create that standard.

“CIPMN has also been having talks with the Ministry of works; we have a member of the ministry of housing in our council. We have a member of  the ministry of education on our council, we have a member of the ministry of finance on our council. We have even interacted out to presidency level and The Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

“We are working hard to ensure that the law is obeyed, that says you can not lead or manage projects in Nigeria unless you are licensed to do so.

“Every institution of higher learning; university, polytechnic, every association of the project management members, whether it is a project management institute or other association according to our establishment Acts must be licenced by CIPMN to teach and train in project management.

“Even if you run a consultancy out there and you train for project management, obey the law, come and get the company’s clearance to carry out project management training because we have to regulate the sector of project management. This is why this institute was created.”

Highlighting the drastic necessity for regulation in the field, Mr. Mbadiwe warned against the dangers of unregistered project managers, linking abandoned projects to their activities.

According to him, the Institute still needs more certified members to be able to carry out its mission of zero tolerance to unprofessionalism in the system.

“It’s not enough to have over 500 licensed managers; it’s just a drop in the ocean. We need ministries, departments, agencies, and the private sector to get their project managers licensed.

“When we have enough Project Managers, we’ll begin to get value for money, at least, we’ll begin to see less abandoned projects and less waste of resources. Do you know that you can deliver a project completely from start to end and you think everything is fine but if you have done it even better, it might save money but some people might never know so we need to begin to harmonize all of these,” he stressed.

To further emphasize the importance of experience over mere certification, he stated, “You are a project manager because you have managed projects—not because you wrote an exam.” He expressed optimism that within two years, CIPMN would grow to at least 5,000 members, essential for ensuring accountability and competency in project delivery.

Talks about creating a dedicated project management academy were also on the table. “The Act allows for a dedicated institute to train individuals, and we are considering a project management university in the future,” he remarked, adding that the goal is not just to establish new institutions but to enhance existing ones.

The event resonated deeply with the new inductees, many of whom shared their enthusiasm for the institute’s objectives. Mr. Macben Chibuife, a new inductee and Monitoring Evaluating Officer for Democracy Mission Nigeria stated,

“Even though it’s a very new Institute, it’s the right institute because we’ve seen a lot of underdeveloped projects in Nigeria and this Institute is going to champion the cause for quality projects implementation regardless of the field.

“So we have been trained extensively, we wrote the exams, the cutoff was really high, so everyone you see with this certification or licence is a certified and guaranteed project manager that can supervise and implement any project in any part of this country. The cut off was 75 percent, anything less will deny you the license.

“Since I’m already in the human development space, we handle a lot of projects for my organization, so personally this is going to benefit me. With what I have learnt, with the experience and networking of highly qualified other project managers, the rob off is good to help me for a better project implementation in my own space of work.”

Another new member, Aminu Mohammed Kawu, Centre Manager of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in Adamawa State, while speaking with National Periscope declared, “This program is going to help me in my profession and in all aspects of life. Project management is not only about construction but cut across every sector. If we can adopt the principle of project management in all we do, we are going to achieve success in whatever we do and all our projects will go as planned.

“Nigeria is known for too many abandoned projects and sometimes we do things that are not beneficial to our people but if we can adopt the principles of project management, our people will benefit immensely from our projects because they are going to be planned based on the needs of our people and that will help the country a lot.”

CIPMN is a regulatory body for project management in Nigeria, under the supervision of The Ministry of Industry, Trade, And Investment.