The Chartered Institute of Project Managers of Nigeria (CIPMN) is planning a nationwide investigation into abandoned projects and poor project delivery, following an estimate that the financial waste could range between ₦12 trillion and ₦17 trillion.
CIPMN Registrar-General and Chief Executive Officer, Henry Ifeanyi Mbadiwe disclosed the estimate during an engagement with journalists, stressing that the figures remain preliminary and require further investigation to establish the actual cost of abandoned projects across the country.

The institute plans to work with the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning and governments at all levels to identify projects that received budgetary allocations but were never completed.
Mbadiwe said the investigation must go beyond estimating financial losses to identifying those responsible for project failures and enforcing accountability.

He blamed weak enforcement by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) for making it difficult to hold project managers accountable for abandoned or poorly executed projects.
Mbadiwe urged government agencies to verify project managers’ licences before approving projects or processing contract awards, insisting that compliance would help authorities identify those responsible when projects fail.

“If somebody wants to obtain a no-objection certificate from the Bureau of Public Procurement or clearance for a contract award, and the law is enforced, do you not think we would know the project manager responsible for every federal government project in Nigeria?” he asked.
He said the same requirement should apply to state and local governments and relevant private-sector projects.
Mbadiwe also announced plans to establish a searchable database of licensed project managers to enable employers and members of the public to verify professional credentials.

“In November, I told my team that we would publish the names of every licensed project manager,” he said, adding that the institute would also clarify the status of individuals who had failed to meet their professional obligations.
He said the database would help expose false claims of professional status and support investigations into project failures, including building collapses.

The CIPMN chief executive maintained that effective regulation would discourage negligence by making project managers answerable for their professional conduct.
He accused MDAs of failing to enforce applicable project management requirements, thereby weakening efforts to identify those responsible for failed projects.

“The real issue is that MDAs are not making it easy to regulate project management in Nigeria and ensure that project management professionals operate within the law,” he said.
CIPMN said its proposed investigation would examine the number of abandoned projects, their financial implications and the wider cost of poor project delivery.

The institute acknowledged that determining the actual figures would require extensive nationwide data collection.
Mbadiwe added that CIPMN was collaborating with the National Universities Commission and universities to strengthen project management education and improve the supply of qualified professionals.

He said Nigeria could not achieve its development goals without properly planned projects managed by competent professionals.
The institute said the proposed investigation and licensing database would strengthen project accountability, although the success of the initiatives would depend on reliable data, cooperation from government agencies and effective enforcement of the law.