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European Scientific Journal May 2018 edition Vol.14, No.14 ISSN: 1857 – 7881 (Print) e - ISSN 1857- 7431

Project Planning and Implementation in Niegria:

Revisiting International Best Practices

Nick Ngozi Igwe

PhD, FIPMD, MAMN, MNIM, MIMC, MTRCN,
Assoc. Professor and Head of Department Business Management
Godfrey Okoye University, Ugwuomu-Nike, Enugu, Enugu State Nigeria
Anthony Obiora Ude
PhD, AMNIM, MCPN
Department of Management
University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Enugu State, Nigeria

Doi: 10.19044/esj.2018.v14n14p152 URL:http://dx.doi.org/10.19044/esj.2018.v14n14p152

Abstract
The existence of poor project planning and implementation culture is
an anti-thesis to development. This is because the growth of any nation is
essentially dependent on successful execution of critical development
projectsand infrastructures. The purpose of thispaper is to explore the current
issues around project planning and implementation in Nigeria’s public sector
vis-à-vis international best practices. The methodology adopted was a
documentary review of past and current literature which enhance critical and
contextual analysis of project implementation and execution culture in the
country. It was found that the three tiers of government have not really
planned, implemented and executed projects with due diligence in accordance
with global best practices. Thus there exists a widespread institutional
mediocrity in project execution, deficiency of vision, and inadequate
budgetary allocations leading to high cost of project financing and corruption
in the long run. The paper recommends amongst other things the establishment
of National Public Projects Implementation System (NPPIS),public projects
governance institutional framework and project management offices (PMOs),
in Ministries Departments and Agencies to support processes for better public
projects delivery system.

Keywords: Project, Project Planning, Project Implementation, Best Practice,

Public Project Management Office

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Introduction
The existence of poor planning implementation and execution culture
is an antithesis to development. All of mankind’s greatest accomplishments
from building the great pyramids to discovering a cure for polio, ebola and
even putting a man on the moon began as a project. It is nearly impossible to
pick up a Newspaper, government periodicals or business magazine and not
find something about projects. Project Planning and Implementation is no
longer a special-need management. It is rapidly becoming a standard way of
doing both private and public sector businesses (Gray and Larson, 2008). This
is because the growth of any developed or developing nation is hinged upon
successful project planning and implementation of development projects and
infrastructures. For the projects to be successfully executed and completed,
they must be adequately planned, budgeted for and funded. Funding is
normally done by government or donor agencies through the allocation of
scarce resources. This brings us to the general view held by economists that
every resource has an alternative use, hence an opportunity cost. The
implication is that any project embarked upon not only consumes resources
but denies other potential projects the opportunity to exist and contribute to
the growth of the country especially in this time of economic recession biting
every individual, group, organisation and even government. That is why the
failure of a project be it in private or public sector through poor projects
planning and implementation practices carries three serious repercussions to
the economy and environment. First is the waste of resources/finances and
human effort(s) used in its execution. Secondly is the denial of opportunity for
other projects from coming on streams. Thirdly is the consequence on the
mental psyche of the failure syndrome on the project participants and
stakeholders (Ewurum, Eboh and Igwe, 2009). As Okorafor (1997) remarks,
that it is better not to embark on a project implementation than to start, get
stuck and abandon.
A critical look at our environment today especially in the South East
would reveal the ugly sights of poorly planned, uncompleted, abandoned
and/or even aborted projects. Observable examples of these projects are in the
areas of road construction, airports, electricity, water and hospital projects. If
their costs were to be calculated, it would reveal a colossal waste of scarce
resources (Ikedianya, 1998; Eboh and Igwe, 2007). The question on the lips
of every cost sensitive patriotic professional has been: were there no proper
feasibility studies before executing these projects? It seems very strange and
unfortunate that political expediency overrides every other consideration in
the selection of projects for execution in Nigeria. Inother words, such projects
are never implemented with the needs and aspirations of the would-be
beneficiaries. Commenting on this lackadaisical attitude to project planning
and implementation, Imaga, Igwe and Nwoji (2005), aptly stated that the

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problem is that of poor conceptualization and management of development

projects, most of which have inbuilt deceitful mechanism meant to serve and
sub-serve selfish and self-centred objectives other than national interests and
that of improving the lots of Nigerian people. In other climes theseactions
would have sent the perpetrators of such crimes against the masses to outright
life imprisonment. Given the poor track record of project planning and
implementation in Nigerian environment, the significance of sound project
management practices cannot be over emphasized. Sound project management
has gained popularity as a distinct management concept used to drive change
objectives in business organisations and also the economic agenda of
developing countries including Nigeria. Consequently, any research that
attempts to analyze project planning and implementation in the context of
international best practices would be meaningful to re-inventing
administrativeand transformational strategies, for sustainable project
development and implementation. This paper is intended to fill this gap.
The paper therefore seeks to explore the issues around project planning
and implementation in Nigerian public sector in relation to international best
practices in other climes especially the developed economies. The paper
highlights the urgent need for value-driven project monitoring and evaluation
especially the United Nations Development Programmes (UNDP) and the
World Bank Models. The paper is divided into sections. The introductory
section is followed by conceptual definitions which briefly discuss the
concepts around the topic. Sections three and four present the methodology
adopted and the literature review on project planning and implementation
respectively.The section five throws light on the dynamics of project
implementation and completion in Nigeria. Section six presents the proven
international best practice success factors in project planning and execution.
Section seven and eight respectively present the conclusion and the
recommendations towards a value-driven project planning and
implementation culture in Nigeria.

Conceptual Framework
Imaga, Igwe and Nwoji (2005) define project as a scientifically
evolved work plan devised to achieve a specific objective within a specified
period of time. For Gray and Larson (2008), a project is a complex, non-
routine, one-time effort limited by time, budget, resources and performance
specifications designed to meet customer needs. While project has several
definitions, a simple and relatively inclusive one is that a project is a sequence
of tasks performed to achieve a unique goal within a specific time frame
(Mingus, 2002). Uniqueness is the key word. It is what separates projects from
operations and what makes them more difficu1t to manage. To standardize
further on the definition of the word, the Project Management Institute (2008)

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in its Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) Guide defines a

project as a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique value or
service. Meredith and Mantel Jr.(2000) view projects as characterized by
general attributes such as the purpose, life cycle, uniqueness,
interdependencies and conflicts. Project management is the planning, directing
and controlling of organization’s resources for a relatively short term objective
that has been established to complete specific goals and objectives (Kerzner,
2002). For this paper project is viewed as a related set of tasks planned,
performed and coordinated to achieve a specific objective or output at a given
location within a limited scarce resource and period of time. For the Project
Management Institute (2006) project management is “the application of
knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities, in order to meet
or exceed stakeholders’ needs and expectations. It is designed to make better
use of existing resources by getting work to flow horizontally as well as
vertically within the project organization. The growth of application of sound
project management principles has come about through necessity than through
desire. The economic environment in Nigeria and indeed other developing
countries today characterized byfrequent changes in monetary and fiscal
policies have made it more imperative for sound management of projects in
business and public sectors.
Project planning is concerned with establishing a predetermined course
of action within a forecasted environment. Planning involves decision making
of choosing alternative courses of actions to accomplish the project set
objectives. Banjoko (2009) remarks that project planning involves all
managerial activities necessary in structuring a course of action.
Consequently, project planning in the project environment must be systematic,
flexible enough to handle unique activities, disciplined through reviews,
controls and ever ready to accept multifunctional inputs. Planning is never
“etched on concrete”. Project implementation in the public sector management
represents a well-considered and thought-out plan of action required to deploy
resources considered appropriate and adequate to achieve the desired
objectives and quality specifications in an environment. A project is
implemented through programs, activities and tasks that serve to deploy
resources to interact within the environment.International best practice for this
paper would be seen as specifications, standards or benchmarks that have been
agreed, promoted by academics, practitionersdonors and stakeholders for
achieving objectives in a stable and dependable environment.
Project Planning and Implementation cannot succeed unless a good
project manager is in control. A project manager is the individual responsible
for the success of a project in terms of time, cost and technical performance
(Ewurum, Eboh and Igwe, 2009). He provides the management and leadership
necessary to bind the people and groups from different departments and

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companies working on a project into one managerial organization and team.

The project manager throughout the life cycle of the project is able to see the
project as a whole and also see how the various parts fit together. He is like an
“ombudsman” between the customer and the top-management. The project
manager is a senior manager and therefore performs all the functions of a
manager particularly as regards the success of the project.

Sociocultural
Leadership
Problem solving
Teamwork
Negotiation
Politics
Customer expectations

Technical
Scope
WBS
Schedules
Resource allocation
Baseline budgets
Status reports

Fig. 1.0: The Technical and Sociocultural Dimensions of the Project Management Process.
Source: Gray C. F. and Larson, E.W (2008: 15) New York: McGraw Hill.

As the diagram, figure 1.0 indicates the technical dimension represents

the “science” of project management while the sociocultural dimension
represents the “art” of managing a project. To succeed, the project manager
must master the two aspects. Unfortunately, some project managers
becomepreoccupied with the planning and technical details of the project
while some rely heavily on team dynamics and organizational politics. Sound
and intelligent project managers balance their attention to both the technical
and sociocultural dimensions of project management.
The two traditional measurements for project success are that the
project be on time and within budget. There are, however three additional
measures of success that need to be considered:
• Were the project goals met (scope)
• Was the client satisfied? (Quality)
• Were there casualties, either to the team or to the interrelationships?
Unfortunately, many people concentrate so much on the first two: time
and budget. They fail in the later three. While this may be good for the project
managers and their organizations in the short term, in the long term it has a
detrimental effect (Mingus, 2002). The interrelationships of these five
measures of project success can be represented graphically in what is often

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referred to as the project management Triangle or Time Cost Scope. Triangle

(Fig. 2.0).

Time Cost

Building
Resources

Scope
Fig. 2.0: Project Management Triangle
Source: Mingus, N. B. (2002:9): Teach Yourself Project Management in 24 hours,
Madison: CWL Publishing.

The agreed upon project work and requirements, the cost side
represents the total naira cost of the project and the time side represents the
project duration. Inside the triangle, resources refer to the people and
equipment in use on the projects and Quality to how close the project is to
satisfying client expectations. What the diagram portrays is that there is a
relationship between the scope of a project, how long that project will take and
how much it will cost.

Methodology of the study

The paper adopts the methodology of documentary review of past and
current literature which enhance critical and contextual analysis of project
planning and implementation in the Nigeria environment. The issue of large
scale, pervasive institutional mediocrity, poor conceptualization, wrong
design and faulty execution of projects by many self-seeking public officials
and dubious contractors is of serious concern to well-meaning people,
researchers, project management professionals and even government. This has
attracted a plethora of public outrage and documentary.

Review of Related Literature

The Critical Factors Necessary for Successful Project Implementation
and Execution
Despite the challenges and failures, projects will remain the dominant
means of organizing investment in the foreseeable future especially in the
developing countries. They offer important advantages to all participants in
development, government agencies, non-governmental organizations,

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international donors, aid agencies and beneficiaries. This is because, by

definition, they are or should be manageable units of activity. A properly
designed project should be a related set of tasks co-ordinated to achieve a
specific objective or output at a given location within a limited budget and
period of time.
The process of project implementation involves the successful
development and introduction of projects in the organization currently,
presents an on-going challenge for managers. The project implementation
process is complex, usually requiring simultaneous attention to a wide variety
of human, budgetary and technical variables. As a result, the organization’s
project manager is faced with a difficult job, characterized by role overload,
frenetic activity, fragmentation and superficiality (Pinto and Levin 1987).
Often the typical project manager has responsibility for successful project
outcome without sufficient budget or people to handle all of the elements
essential for project success. In addition, projects are often initiated in the
context of a turbulent, unpredictable and dynamic environment. Consequently,
the project manager would be well served by more information about those
specific factors critical to project success. These critical factors are discussed
as follows:

Need for Planning and Mission Statement

Planning can be defined as the process of stating project objectives and
then determining the most effective activities or accomplishments necessary
to reach the objectives. Thus the planning process defines the activities, the
time, cost targets and the performance milestones which aid in the successful
achievement of the project objectives. The plan must indicate what materials,
equipment, facilities, human resources and other resources that are necessary.
In directing the intent of the project, the plan clearly identifies the
project objectives, goals and any special influences or constraints on the
project scope. Objectives are the end result of a project, whereas the goals are
those desired operations, specifications or cost time relationship. What makes
the project intents possible is the issue of project mission statement. The
mission statements can be identified with the following questions:
• What do we do?
• For whom do we do it?
• How do we go about it?

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Fig 3.0: Expanded project Life Cycle

Source:Rondinelli, D.A. (1977) Planning Development Project Storudsburg: Hutchison and
Ross Inc.

Recognizing that change is inevitable the plan must not be “etched on

concrete”, it must be sufficiently flexible to permit changes at any point in
time during life cycle. But in reality, project management involves a series of
related activities, which should form an integrated planning and
implementation cycle. Experience suggests that nearly all types of project go
through similar life cycles, perhaps not explicit in all cases or in the same way
or sequentially as a cyclical framework may imply, but most projects evolve
through stages depicted in figure 3.

Project Manager
A project manager is the manager responsible for the success of a
project in terms of cost and technical performance. He provides the managerial
leadership necessary to bind people and group from different departments and
companies working on a project into one managerial organisation and teams.
He also provides the necessary drive to ensure that the project is completed on
time and within the budget. He is a leader and a motivator of the members of
the project team.

The functions of the project manager include, amongst others, the

following:
• Participates with all responsible managers in developing the overall
project objectives, strategies, budgets and schedules.

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• Ensures the preparation of plans for all necessary project tasks to

satisfy stakeholders.
• Ensures the rapid and efficient start-up of the project.
• Ensures that all project activities are properly and realistically
scheduled, budgeted, provided for, monitored and reported.
• Initiates action to remedy deficiencies and deviations noticed
during execution and to monitor the execution of such actions.
• Ensures that payments are received for executed projects in accordance
with the contractual terms.
• Arbitrates and resolves any differences between functional units on
projecttasks.
• Closely monitors close out activities including the disposal of surplus
materials.
For the project manager to perform the above functions effectively and
efficiently, he requires the total support of the top management, functional line
managers and adequate supply of resources; he needs greatly, clearly, and well
defined authority over all who work for him. Authority as we know is the right
to give orders and exact obedience.

The Project Team

The project team includes all functional contributors to the project, as
well as the members of the project office. There are however certain actions
that the project manager and team can take in order to stimulate project
success.
These actions are summarized as follows:
• He should insist on the right to select key project team members with
proven track records in their fields.
• Develop commitment and a sense of mission from the client and team.
• He should strive at having key team members in decision making and
solving problems; and utilize a, workable set of project planning and control
tools.
• Finally he ought to stress the importance of meeting cost, schedule and
performance goals.

Support of Top Management

For a project to succeed, it must have the support of the management.
Top level management must be willing to commit organizational resources
and provide the necessary administrative support so that the project adapts to
the company’s day-to-day routine of doing business. As noted by Schultz and
Slevin (1985), management support for projects or indeed for any
implementation has been considered of great importance in distinguishing

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between their ultimate success or failure. Beck (1983) sees project

management as not only depending on top management for authority,
direction and support, but ultimately as the conduit for implementing top
management’s plans or goals for the organization. Furthermore Manley (1985)
shows that the degree of management support for a project would lead to
significant degree of ultimate acceptance of or resistance to that project
(product).
To further extend the boundaries of success, both the top management
and project manager must try to take the following joint actions: Select at an
early point a project manager with a proven track record of technical skills,
human skills and administrative skills (in that order) to lead the project team.
Allow the project manager to take key important decisions in conjunction with
key team members. They should develop, maintain short and informal lines of
communication.

Client Consultation
The “client” is referred here as anyone who will ultimately be making
use of the result of the project, as either a customer outside the company or a
department within the organisation. The need for client consultation has been
found to be increasingly important in attempting to successfully implement a
project. Indeed if the project manager is aware of the major clients he is able
to accurately determine if their needs are met.

Personnel Matters
An important, but often overlooked aspect of the implementation
process concerns the nature of the personnel involved. In many situations,
personnel for the project team are chosen with less than full regard for the
skills necessary to actively contribute to implementation success. Some
current writers are including the personnel variable in the equation for project
team performance and project success. Hammond (1989) has developed a
contingency model of the implementation process which includes people as a
situational variable whose knowledge, skills, goals and personalities must be
considered in assessing the environment of the project. Only after such a
diagnosis takes place that the project management team can begin to set
objectives and design the implementation trajectories.

Technical Task Ability

It is important that the project implementation be managed by people
who understand the project. In addition, there must exist adequate technology
to support the project. Technical task here refers to the necessity of not only
having the necessary personnel for the implementation,but ensuring that they
possess the technical skills to perform these tasks.

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Application of Force Field Analysis

Project management operates in a dynamic environment in which
constant and rapid changes become a way of life. To operate effectively under
these circumstance, the project manager must be able to diagnose the situation,
design alternatives that will remedy it, provide the necessary leadership so that
these changes can be implemented and develop an atmosphere that helps
people to adapt readily to these changes.
It was Lewin (1951) who propounded that at any point in time during
the life cycle of a project, there exists forces that will push the project towards
success and restraining forces that induce failure. In a steady state
environment, the driving and restraining forces are in balance. However, if the
driving forces increase, or the restraining forces decrease whether they act
independently or together, change is inevitable to occur. The formal analysis
of these forces is commonly referred to as force field analysis.

Client Acceptance
In addition to client consultation at an earlier stage in the
implementation process, it remains of ultimate importance to determine
whether the clients for whom the project has been initiated will accept it.
Client acceptance refers to the final stage in the implementation process at
which time the ultimate efficacy of theproject is to be determined. Too often,
( project managers make the myth of believing that if they handle the other
stages of the implementation process well, the client (either internal or external
to the organization) will accept the resulting output (product). In fact, as
several writers have shown, client acceptance is a stage in project
implementation that must be managed like any other variable.

Need for Accurate Monitoring and Feedback System

This refers to the project control processes by which at each stage of
the project implementation, key personnel receive feedback on how the project
is comparing to initial projections. Making allowance for adequate monitoring
and feedback mechanism gives the project manager the ability to anticipate
problems, to oversee corrective measures, and to ensure that no deficiencies
are overlooked.

Need for Constant Communication

The need for constant and adequate communication is extremely
important in creating a conducive atmosphere for successful project
implementation within the project team itself, but very essential between the
team and the rest of the organization as well as with the client.

Troubleshooting

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Problem areas exist in almost every implementation. Regardless of

how carefully the project was initially planned, it is impossible to foresee
every trouble area or problem that could possibly arise. As a result it is
important that the project manager makes adequate initial arrangement for
“troubleshooting” mechanisms to be included in the implementation plan.
Such mechanisms make it easier not only to react to problems as they arise but
to foresee and possibly forestall potential trouble areas in the implementation
process.

Need for Risk Analysis

The simple way to carry out a risk analysis is to think of “what could
go wrong?” Usually, a threat is something done by competitors or other people
that might impact a project adversely, A risk however, can happen through
one’s own actions. In practice, risks and threats may overlap. The project
manager should know that for every risk identified, it is useful to decide what
might be done to deal with the situation. This should help him develop
contingencies. Nevertheless, no attempt should be made to identify all of the
possible risks that might affect a project. To do so leads to a condition called
Analysis Paralysis. However, identification of a risk allows the project
manager to take steps to prevent its occurrence by providing a back-up plan.

The dynamics of project implementation and completion in Nigeria

There seems to be an unambiguous consensus amongst stakeholders,
academics and project management practitioners on the relationship between
development, successful implementation and completion of projects (Yesufu,
2000; Ewurum, Eboh and Igwe, 2009; Eboh and Igwe, 2007). Nigeria can be
considered in all ramifications a leading developing country in Africa despite
her numerous political and economic challenges. The country is blessed with
abundant deposits of huge hydrocarbons in the Niger Delta region of the
country which largely contributes to her wealth and abundant human capital
that are contributing immensely in different parts of the world.
However, there is ample evidence to show that inspite of all these
enormous resources from Mother Nature, the vast majority of the Nigeria
populace are still the poorest in the world. According to the vision 2020
National Technical Working Group Report (2009), the country ranked 177th
nation in Human Development Index and 80th out of 108 in the poverty index.
In 2015, the economy of the country went into recession and some of the
favourable indices plummeted.
The issue of insurgency in the North eastern region of the country has
not helped matters as huge resources have been allocated to reducing the
unsavoury effect in the economy. In the North Central and North West
geographical zones, farmers and herdsmen attacks result in abandoned

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community farms. In the south east geopolitical zone, the task of curtailing the
agitation of indigenous people of Biafra has not been completely degraded.
All these various challenges have contributed immensely to under
development and a dearth of infrastructural development in various parts of
the country.(Babalola, 2014, Felix and Wilson, 2011, Uma, Eboh, Obidike and
Ogwuru, 2013). It is in recognition of this that Zuofa and Ochieng (2012)
asserted that the execution of roads, dams, rural water supply and other
infrastructural projects which support development should be a priority in
Nigeria and other developing/emerging economies because such projects
instigate developments and contribute towards the alleviation of the effects of
most social, political and economic challenges (Zuofa and Ochieng, 2014).
The continued agitations recorded in the recent past against the
government of the federation by the various groups of Niger Delta Militants
and Indigenous people of Biafra could be traced to poor projects completion
culminating in abandonment of such critical developments projects with
enhanced capacity for uplifting the standards of living of people in the
geopolitical zones. Appalled by the outrages resulting from project failures
and abandonment in Nigeria environment, the then President Goodluck Ebele
Jonathan instituted the Presidential Project Assessment Committee (PPAC) in
March 4, 2010 to among other things take inventory of all on-going projects
awarded by the Federal government, assess the level of funding, physically
inspect each project to determine work done and to ascertain whether it is
commensurate with the amount paid to the contractors.
Presenting the report of the 20 – member committee, the chairman
revealed that within the period under review that the Federal Government lost
billions of naira to dubious contractors and public officers (Vanguard
Newspapers, 2011). Narrating their experiences the committee chairman Engr.
Ibrahim Bunu revealed that they physically visited two hundred (200) sites of
on-going projects across the country and assessed performance on the sites.
He said: “in the process, the committee has made an inventory of 11,886 on-
going capital projects being executed by the Federal Government. The
estimated cost implication of these projects stands at N7.78trillion”. He added
that “out of this outstanding amount, N2.696 trillion had been paid to
contractors” leaving a whooping outstanding of over N5 trillion. The
committee’s in-depth assessment of many of the projects revealed large scale,
widespread institutional mediocrity, deficiency of vision and a lack of
direction in project management which result in poor conceptualization, poor
design and faulty execution, existence of inadequate budgetary allocation,
high cost of financing projects and corruption “in the handling of projects by
many self-seeking, inept public officers and contractors which led to massive
inflation of costs and undermined the legitimacy of their monitoring and
supervision responsibilities”.

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In his own words: “there are many uncompleted projects where

trillions of naira have already been spent and abandoned, prominent example
of which is the 30 year old multi-billion dollar Ajaokuta steel complex project.
As at 2011, 4.5Bn dollars which had been spent on Ajaokuta steel complex
and yet the project remains uncompleted. A breakdown of the project as
contained in the report showed that Federal Capital Territory Abuja owed
N3.157 trillion worth of projects representing about 34 percent of the total
amount of money, South-South zone has 1,755 projects amounting
toN2.1trillion followed by North-Central zone with N630Billion with 1,844
projects. The last in ranking was North-East zone with 466 projects amounting
to N98billion (Vanguard Newspapers, 2011). The Presidential Project
Assessment Committee, PPAC’s report was indeed a sad commentary on
project implementation, execution and completion culture in Nigeria
environment.
The implication of the PPAC’s report is that there exists a horde of
unimpressive records concerning project outcomes in Nigeria. In the extant
body of literature on project failure in Nigeria, Ubani, Nwachukwu and
Nwokonkwo (2010) explained that after independence in 1960, many
developmental projects have suffered failure and abandonment. Okereke
(2012) examined many projects from various sectors in Nigeria and
highlighted several shortcoming and achievements. According to him, there
was ample evidence to suggest that project failure was not confined to any
state but could rather be termed as a national malaise.
In Nigeria, it is very rare to find projects in the public sector that have
been completed on time and within budget. The government of Dr. Goodluck
Ebele Jonathan outraged by the abysmal project delivery rate of the Niger
Delta Development Commission (NDDC) instituted a committee to appraise
the activities and performance of the Commission. The presidential
monitoring committee on NDDC revealed that of 609 projects monitored, 285
projects representing 46.8 percent were abandoned at various phases of their
project life, 222 projects representing about 36.5percent were completed while
another 102 projects representing 16.7 percent were still ongoing as at the time
of report (Daily Times, 2013). In a research conducted by Ewa (2013) on root
causes of project abandonment in Nigeria tertiary institutions revealed that
most of the projects failed to realize the objectives for implementing them.
Additionally, Eboh and Igwe (2007) catalogued some of the
abandoned projects in Enugu Metropolis, South East Nigeria since the
democratic dispensation begun in 1999. An overview of Nigeria’s landscape
since 1970 till date would reveal a catalogue of abandoned projects that could
not be completed by Federal, State, Local Governments and their agencies. On
the national level were such projects like the Federal Government low cost
housing project, Nigeria Machine Tools, Ajaokuta steel rolling mill, Lagos

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metroline project, second Niger Bridge Project and Enugu International

Airport expansion project. All of these expositions generate valid concerns
about the dynamics of project planning and implementation in the Nigerian
environment. This study shows a plethora of valid evidence within the body
of available literature that this nation has not planned, implemented and
executed projects with due diligence given the level of institutions and
legislative frameworks put in place to forestall such lackadaisical propensity
towards project management principles and practices.

Revisiting Proven International Best Practices Success Factors

Managing projects requires unique skills different from those needed
to manage ongoing operations. Project management in the present 21st century
has been confronted with the challenge of operating in an environment
characterized by high level of uncertainty, economic recession, culminating in
dwindling resources for project implementation, insurgents, kidnapping,
herdsmen attacks, bare-faced armed banditry, cross-cultural teams and global
competition for competent human resources etc.just to mention but a few. A
survey of contemporary research cites the non-existence of internationally
acceptable best practices in project planning and implementation in Nigeria
and this poses a serious national problem from a global perspective (Zuofa and
Ochieng, 2012). Some of the proven international best practices on successful
project planning and implementation are discussed as follows:

Risk Assessment Strategy

As an integral part of project planning and implementation, effective
risk management is a critical success factor for delivering projects in defined
cost, time and quality. Project risk management provides benefits when it is
implemented according to good practices principles and with organisational
commitment to taking the decisions and performing actions in an open and
unbiased manner (Benita and Podean, 2011). In simple term, risks are
uncertain events which when they occur have negative effect on at least one
project goal – time, costs, contents or quality. Contrasting the positive
variability desired is called opportunity. Despite the aforementioned
explanation, project managers most often include risks as challenges and
technical or organisational issues. It is well to note that risks are potential
events in future which have not occurred while problems are risks that have
occurred. Risks are characterized by probability always less than 100 percent
and impact measured changes on project objectives. Risks may be measured
in costs (monetary risks) in time (delay risks for time management) or quality
(usually affecting contracts through monetary costs of improvement),
(Smallman, 1999; Spedding and Rose, 2008). Therefore, uncertainty in project
planning and implementation is inevitable since projects are unique and

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temporary undertakings based on assumptions and constraints, delivering

project results to multiple stakeholders with different requirements.

Monitoring and Evaluation (M & E)

Nigeria like many other developing countries has many numerous
projects in an attempt to upgrade her infrastructures and subsequently improve
the standard of living of its citizens. Unfortunately these projects fail to be
successfully completed due to several reasons. Amongst these are lack of
understanding of the need for monitoring and evaluation. It is worrisome that
many project sponsors especially governments and project managers do not
recognise the need and usefulness of this too for successful completion of
projects. Although monitoring and evaluation are viewed as related, they are
quite distinct and as a result perform distinct functions. Simply put, monitoring
is viewed as a process that provides information and ensures the use of such
information by management to assess project outcomesfor both intentional
and unintentional impact. It is aimed at determining whether or not the
intended objectives have been met (Otieno, 1999). Evaluation on the other
hand is seen as the process which determines objectively the relevance,
effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability and impact of activities in the light of
project/program performance. It focuses on the analysis of the progress made
towards the achievement of the stated objectives. In most
projects/programmes in developing countries, evaluation is not given
emphasis in project implementation especially ex-post evaluation in order to
measure the impact of projects/programs on the beneficiaries and draw lessons
learnt (Burke, 1999). Monitoring and evaluation when carried out
professionally at the right time and place are two of these best practices for
ensuring the success of many projects in developed climes. Unfortunately,
these two tools for project success are not given adequate priority attention by
project developers. Even when in place, it is done haphazardly for the sake of
fulfilling the requirements of most foreign funding agencies without the
intention of using them as a mechanism for ensuring the success of project
planning and implementation in Nigeria.

Professionalization of Project Employees

This is a glaring case of accidental project managers and project
management professionals. The accidental project manager has lived in the
folklore of business projects for a generation. Accidental project managers are
individuals assigned to projects because they were available not because they
had any project management knowledge or skills. Some accidental project
managers have been remarkably successful, but many find themselves blamed
for problems and projects failures they were from the onset ill-equipped to
prevent. Cases of collapsed buildings, collapsed bridges and abandoned

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projects are common in Nigeria. It is important to help accidental project

managers become successful not only to encourage them to remain in the
profession but also because every project failure is a failure for the project
management profession (Bourne, 2005). The accidental project manager has a
technical background: engineer, programmer, system analyst, sales manager,
human resource manager in a HR system or some expertise in the field in
which the project is delivering functionality. By contrast, the career project
management professional (PMP) will normally have or seek formal project
management education or seek exposure in management and organizational
skills for improved project success.

Existence of better institutional frameworks

Public projects governance territory consists of one area of project
management. Governance as per project implies employing institutions,
authority structures and collaboration in order to assign resources to
coordinate activities in a society or economy following laid down procedures.
Public project governance is this part of governance which is applied to public
projects and covers the area from the government through institutions down to
projects (Klakegg, Williams, Magnussen and Glasspool, 2008). In the United
States several regulations starting from guidelines on Cost/Schedule Control
System Criteria (C/SCS), (DOD, 1967), through Government Performance
and Result Act (GPRA) (White House, 1993) up to Program Management
Improvement and Accountability Act (PMIAA) (US Congress, 2015) were
enacted as cited by (Gasik, 2016)..
C/SCS guidelines require that all major defense acquisition projects
must apply earned value management value techniques. GPRA laid the
foundation for American Public Projects Management. PMIAA requires
establishing an interagency body on program management, appointing a senior
executive responsible for program management and establishing models of
program management in each Federal Institution.

Effective and efficient public procurement contracts

The Nigerian Public Procurement Act, 2007 requires for the
establishment of a national council on public procurement. It is important to
realize that there is no single solution to the problem of transparency and
accountability in public procurement contracting. Contracting processes need
to be permanently monitored. Thus supervision and control play a key role
since good rules are necessary but not always enough to curb corruption.
Nevertheless, it is important to have clear and transparent procedures and to
have regular audits by external parties (Igwe, 2013). This is where the Civil
Society Organisations can play an effective role in public projects
management processes.

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Existence of infrastructure for public projects management

This is key to good project planning and implementation strategy, and
delivery. Power and communication facilities must be seen to be adequate and
available even in the remotest communities where projects are carried out.

Stakeholders Engagement and Management

The most important stakeholders of public projects are communities
for which theseprojects are performed for. They are involved in each phase of
the project life cycle from inception to gaining project benefits (Gasik, 2016).
Their representatives are obligatorily included into the project selection
process and into other projects (PMI, 2006). Public projects typically have
multiple other stakeholders like governments, politicians, regulatory bodies,
communities of interest to mention just a few of them. Due to the large number
of stakeholders, it is important to produce efficient, easily accessible channels
of information transfer between actors implementing projects and other
stakeholders. Internet tools are used as communication tools. The portals
contain data on major projects, their annual reports and information of status
(MPA, UK 2013).

The integrative influence of project managers

In addition to companies, project managers have significant influence
on public project. In some countries, the pertinent requirements are formulated
and only people who meet these requirements may manage public projects
(Gasik, 2016). Requirements for public projects managers usually focus on
three core areas: general project management skills, knowledge of the
applicable regulationand knowledge of local realities. Furthermore having a
certificate issued by a recognized body like the Project Management Institute
PMI, may be the basis for recognition as a qualified project manager (PMO,
Maine, 2013) certificates that qualify to conduct public projects are also issued
upon completion of training organized in a given country, (PAI Ireland, 2013).
A more advanced requirement is the completion of full studies in public
projects management (University of Oxford, 2012).

Conclusion
An effective state is the corner stone of successful economies.
Different administrations in Nigeria have made concerted efforts to plan and
execute development projects. More often than not these projects are riddled
with rough shoddy planning and implementation problems. Management and
delivery of projects by the three tiers of government have exhibited a high
degree of inefficiency, a general lack of the desired capacities, institutional
structures required to plan and implement projects that would improve the
living standards of the Nigerian people. There is therefore the urgent need for

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the Federal Government to constitute a transparent National Public Projects

Implementation System (NPPIS) just like in other developed climes to check
project planning and implementation abuses. It cannot continue to be business
as usual.

Recommendations/Suggestions
1. There is need to establish a transparent national public projects
implementation system in the presidency powered by an act of the National
Assembly. It will regulate projects and development projects planning and
implementation.
2. A careful risk management framework must be based on identification
of the key factors and the interpendencies among these factors inherent in each
project environment. This can be achieved by ascertaining the product of risk
probability and impact of the project.
3. There is need for improved effective and efficient monitoring and
evaluation of project/ program. This can be done by timely communication of
the results of M & E to the users for decision making purposes. It is said that
communication in project management is the ‘oil” that lubricates the project
movement in the attainment of stated project objectives.
4. Public projects typically have multiple stakeholders. There is need for
engagement and subsequent management can be facilitated by providing
accessible channels of information transfer between actors implementing
projects and stakeholders.
5. There is an urgent need to check the incidence of accidental project
managers. Public institutions can play a pivotal role in this regard with the
enactment of project/program improvement and accountability act by the
National Assembly.
6. The Federal government can improve on efficient project delivery
modes by massive infrastructural development in the critical sectors of the
economy such as power, roads, education,communication and health.
7. There is need to enshrine punitive actions against defaulting
contractors, project managers, government officials responsible for project
failures or abandonment in the constitution through legislation especially
when it is established that such actions were as a result of corrupt and unethical
conducts.

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