Odimmegwa Johnpeter/Abuja
The Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and the Chartered Institute of Project Managers of Nigeria (CIPMN) are set to strengthen collaboration to improve project management and delivery in the housing sector. This was contained in a statement signed by Badamasi Haiba, Fsca, mnipr, Director, Press and Public Relations.
This was the outcome of a meeting between the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Engr. Muttaqa Rabe Darma, and the leadership of the Chartered Institute of Project Managers of Nigeria (CIPMN), who paid a courtesy visit to the Minister in his office in Abuja.
Darma, while welcoming the delegation, said the presentation by the Institute had provided a clearer understanding of its mandate and the importance of professional project management to national development.
The Minister, who disclosed that he was not new to project management, said his academic and professional background had exposed him extensively to the field.
According to him, his experience has reinforced his belief that effective project management is essential to the successful implementation of development initiatives, particularly in a sector as broad and complex as housing.
“Every blessed thing, every aspect of our life, we manage it and it is a project,” the Minister said, stressing that proper planning, coordination and management were necessary to achieve the desired results from any project.
Darma noted that the housing sector brings together a wide range of professionals and artisans, including engineers, architects, quantity surveyors, contractors and other practitioners, making effective project management particularly important to the mandate of the Ministry.
He said the establishment of a chartered institute for project management was important, given the role of project management in virtually every aspect of national development.
The Minister also said he would examine the legal framework establishing the Institute, particularly its current institutional placement, noting that the Institute’s mandate appeared closely connected to the activities of the housing and construction sector.
He noted that professionals and practitioners across the construction value chain, including engineers, architects, artisans and other practitioners, fall within the scope of the Ministry, stressing that the Institute should also be part of the Ministry.
“I will look at your Act because, to me, you are supposed to be part of this Ministry which is the Ministry that deals with all the artisans,” Darma said.
The Minister further stressed the need for Nigeria to strive for excellence in the execution of projects, noting that the country should aspire to become a centre of excellence in whatever it undertakes.
Earlier, the Registrar General and Chief Executive Officer of CIPMN, Mr. Henry Ifeanyi Mbadiwe explained that the Institute was established by law to regulate and professionalise project management practice in Nigeria, with a mandate to ensure that individuals responsible for leading projects possess the required skills and professional competence.
The Institute highlighted some of its achievements, including its collaboration with the National Universities Commission (NUC) in developing a core curriculum for project management, as well as capacity-building initiatives undertaken with the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), the Nigerian Police Force, the Nigerian Army and the Lagos State Government.
The delegation expressed its readiness to collaborate with the Ministry in strengthening the capacity of officials involved in project management and improving the planning, coordination, monitoring and delivery of housing projects.
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