The President, Chartered Institute of Project Managers of Nigeria (CIPMN), Dr Victoria Okoronkwo, has called for the involvement of project managers in all Federal Government projects.
Okoronkwo said this at the 7th edition of its membership induction and 4ty DUCAP Methodology Project Management Training in Abuja on Friday.
The theme of the event is “DUCAP 3: Hands on project Management.”
DUCAP is a 100 per cent CIPMN initiative designed and developed as a framework for delivering projects in the country.
According to Okoronkwo, it is no longer business as usual, the inductees now have licences to operate as project managers.
“ We are here today to issue license to our inductees for them to have something as an authority to work immediately they start employing them.
“CIPMN members have been issued this authority as a practising instrument. That’s why we say we went to federal ministries to put them in their cadre where they belong.
“So, they should be involving project managers because in most of the projects in the country, nobody answers project manager and this should be a specialised area the government must look into,” he said.
He, therefore, said that all other engineering professions must be members of CIPMN to be able to deliver projects in the country.
Also, Hajia Hajara Yusuf, Registrar/Secretary to the Council, said that project management was a framework developed into local content in an environment so that all members could be on top of their profession.
“ The project management globally is the in thing we must do.
“If you want to have project executed on time and within specifications, the way to go is project management.
“ In CIPMN, what we have done is to look at the project management framework and now developed what can be adapted to our own kind of environmental and we are insisting on training so our members can be on top of everything.
“Talk about building collapse, talk about substandard product around the world, the best we can do in this nation is to really work with what we have and ensure we stick to the ethics of the act in eradicating abandonment and substandard projects in Nigeria,” she said.
One of the inductees, Dejo Olawonyin, called on the government to engage the service of a project manager when dealing with a project if any kind.
“ If you’re actually engaging in project contracts, you need to have a project management experience, and it’s better you’re a project manager.
“So in construction and other areas, you need to be able to engage each of these specialisations to come together as project manager.
“The law that establishes project management prohibits people to call themselves project managers when they are not.
“ So that’s why this event of today is important and what we are doing to make sure that people are actually managing projects. Most projects in the country has the highest abundant projects in Africa,” he said.
The institute inducted 110 members into different categories of fellow membership, chartered membership and associates membership.