The Chartered Institute of Project Managers of Nigeria, CIPMN, and the Federal Ministry of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs have struck a strategic partnership to boost the capacity of civil servants nationwide with project management skills.
Registrar-General of CIPMN, Mr. Henry Mbadiwe, announced the collaboration during a visit to the Minister of Special Duties, Hon. Zaphaniah Jisalo, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Onwusoro Ihemelandu, in Abuja.
Mbadiwe, who reaffirmed CIPMN’s commitment to regulating project management practice in Nigeria, said the institute is out to ensure that it’s mandates are carried out for the overall good of the country.
The CIPMN Chief Executive also conferred the institute’s award of fellowship on the minister and permanent secretary.
He said the award conferred on the two officials signified the beginning of a deeper partnership with the ministry in advancing the “Renewed Hope Agenda” of the Federal Government.
“By accepting this award, you take up a unique role in driving project management reforms within the public sector. Our mandate is to ensure project management is properly practised and regulated in Nigeria for national development,” he said.
According to him, the partnership will not only improve the skills of civil servants but also promote transparency, reduce wastage, and ensure projects are delivered on time and within cost.
Speaking after receiving the fellowship award, Ihemelandu described the initiative as a game-changer for the public service, stressing that proper training in project management would enhance efficiency, accountability, and delivery of government projects.
“We are beginning with Permanent Secretaries at the federal and state levels, then Directors, and eventually every civil servant across the 774 local government areas.
“Our aim is to build a pipeline of public officers who understand how to conceptualise, monitor, evaluate, and close projects successfully,” he said.
The Permanent Secretary noted gaps in project costing, quality assurance, and budget management as major weaknesses undermining service delivery.
“Given my background in active service on project management, you need to know the structure, how it is conceptualised, monitored, evaluated and how to close down a project. Within a project too, you need to know how to cost projects.
“Most of the problems we have is the cost management of a team project due to the volatile nature of Nigeria today, it could be one Naira, tomorrow ten Naira.
“Then, what about the quality assurance of materials used in any project? Be it bakery, be it textiles among others,” he said.
“For us in the Ministry, we are inter-governmental so, in our engagement with our sub-nationals which is states and local governments, we will try to carry the Institute along in our conferences and stakeholders engagements.
While urging CIPMN to organise a stakeholders forum in order to have MDAs on board, he said some of the major challenges bedevilling the system is paucity of knowledgeable skills on costing projects and naira volatility.
Ihemelandu further called for more collocation with Ministries, Departments, Agencies and other stakeholders as well as sensitization of key stakeholders.
“There is a need for sensitisation which cuts across key stakeholders like the standards organization of Nigeria, NSE, Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria, Bureau of Public Procurement among other strategic partners to achieve the desired results.
“There is also need for you to organise a stakeholders forum where you will invite everybody to announce what we do so that everybody body will come on board and understand what the mandates of CIPMN is,” he said.
