The Chartered Institute of Project Managers of Nigeria (CIPMN) has warned of the growing financial threat posed by failed and poorly executed projects across the country, revealing that Nigeria is battling an estimated N17 trillion worth of abandoned projects.
The Registrar-General of CIPMN, Henry Mbadiwe, sounded the alarm on Tuesday while delivering a keynote address at the CIPMN 2025 Annual Conference and 6th Induction Ceremony in Abuja, themed “Regulating Project Management in Nigeria: Policy Dialogue.”
Mbadiwe described the situation as a major drain on public finances and a danger to national development planning. He cited a World Bank report which estimates that $4 billion is lost globally every year to corrective work on newly completed projects that require reconstruction, redesign, or major adjustments after commissioning.
He described the figure as “ridiculous and unacceptable,” blaming weak regulation and the continued use of unlicensed personnel for managing critical projects.
“The project management profession is one that is still growing in Nigeria. It’s not as respected as it should be. A recent report said the cost of abandoned projects has reached N17tn in Nigeria. The World Bank also published a report where $4bn is being wasted yearly on corrective works on projects, meaning a project is commissioned and then you realise a mistake and spend more money fixing it. That is the waste we are fighting,” Mbadiwe said.
He warned that Nigeria has entered a new regulatory era where managing any project—public or private—without a valid CIPMN licence is now a criminal offence. According to him, the institute is setting up an enforcement team that will begin visiting project sites nationwide within the next three months.
“You cannot manage or lead any project in Nigeria if you are not licensed by this institute. Even foreign-trained professionals must be licensed locally before handling projects here,” he stated.
The warning comes amid persistent cases of project failures across the country, where newly commissioned projects require emergency repairs or full redesigns due to structural defects, poor-quality materials, and non-compliance with specifications.
A recent example is the announcement by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to commence fresh reconstruction work at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, only a few years after earlier rehabilitation.
On August 1, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved over N900 billion for aviation projects, with the rehabilitation of MMIA’s Terminal One as a central component. The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, said the project was driven by the urgent need to replace decaying infrastructure and meet modern global standards.
CIPMN said such corrective spending highlights the urgent need for unified professional standards across all projects in the country.
Standardised Project Management Now a “Governance Necessity”
Also speaking at the event, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Onwusoro Maduka, described standardised project management as a “national governance necessity.”
He warned that chronic issues such as project delays, duplication, cost inflation, weak monitoring, political interference, and abandonment are direct results of fragmented standards across federal, state, and local governments.
Maduka cautioned that without a uniform national project management framework, Nigeria’s implementation of the National Development Plan 2021–2025, the Renewed Hope Agenda, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) would remain under threat.
He proposed key reforms, including:
- Mandatory licensing and induction for all project officers
- Annual recertification
- State and local government training programmes
- Standardised monitoring templates and digital reporting tools
- Annual compliance audits and sanctions for violations
He stressed that uniform regulation would reduce financial leakages, eliminate arbitrary cost variations, and strengthen transparency and inter-governmental collaboration.
