ABUJA/Nigeria: The Senate on Wednesday took a major step toward overhauling Nigeria’s development planning system as the Bill to establish the Chartered Institute of Planning of Nigeria (CIPN), sponsored by Senator Ede Dafinone, passed Second Reading on the floor of the National Assembly.
Leading the debate, Senator Dafinone said the Bill seeks to grant chartered status to an institute that has existed for more than 22 years, formally empowering it as the statutory professional body responsible for regulating, standardising, and advancing the practice of planning across the country.
He argued that Nigeria’s long-standing weak planning framework has contributed to inconsistent policies, abandoned projects, poor inter-agency coordination, and ineffective implementation of development plans. Chartering the Institute, he said, would help establish a unified national planning structure covering economic, infrastructural, environmental, social, corporate, and strategic planning.
The proposed legislation would also enforce strict standards for training, ethics, certification, and continuous professional development for planners nationwide.
Senator Dafinone stressed that the bill carries no financial implications for the Federal Government. “I clarified that the Bill imposes no financial burden on the Federal Government, as the Institute is designed to be fully self-funding through its professional activities and partnerships,” he said.
Describing the Second Reading as a significant achievement, the Delta Central lawmaker expressed confidence that once chartered, the Institute would play a transformative role in strengthening Nigeria’s long-term development planning and governance.
