INSTITUTE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT OF NIGERIA ACT

(1) There is hereby established a body to be known as the Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (in this Act referred to as "the Institute") which shall be a body corporate under that name and be charged with the general duty of-
(a) determining what standards of knowledge and skill are to be attained by persons seeking to become registered as personnel management practitioners and raising those standards from time to time as circumstances may permit;
(b) securing in accordance with the provisions of this Act the establishment and maintenance of a register of members and the publication from time to time of lists of those persons;
(c) regulating and controlling the profession in all its aspects and ramifications;
(d) performing through the Council under this Act the functions conferred on it by this Act.
(2) The Institute shall have perpetual succession and a common seal which shall be kept in such custody as the Council may, from time to time, authorise.
(3) The Institute may sue and be sued in its corporate name and may, subject to the Land Use Act, hold, acquire and dispose of any property, movable or immovable.
(4) Subject to the provisions of this Act, members admitted to the Institute shall-
(a) possess an adequate knowledge of personnel management and be enrolled in the category of-
(i) fellows; or
(ii) members; or
(iii) associates; or
(iv) affiliates; or
(b) be registered as graduates and students for registration and training.
(5) Persons accorded by the Council status as personnel management practitioners shall be entitled to the use of that name and shall be recorded as-
(a) fellows, if they have-
(i) spent at least seven years as full members of the Institute; and
(ii) contributed significantly to the practice and development of personnel management;
(b) members, if they have-
(i) spent at least six years in the grade of associate; and
(ii) been adjudged by the Council to possess an adequate knowledge of personnel management;
(c) associates, if, they are-
(i) university graduates who have spent at least four years in the grade of affiliate; or
(ii) holders of university degrees in personnel management or related disciplines who have performed executive or advisory duties in personnel management continuously for at least six years;
(iii) graduates of the Institute who have competently performed executive or advisory duties at senior level in personnel management function for at least four years since election to the grade of graduate members;
(iv) non-graduates who have spent at least ten years in the grade of affiliate; and
(v) possessors of knowledge and qualities which conform to a standard essential to the successful practice of personnel management.
(6) The designatory letter of the-
(a) Fellows of the Institute of Personnel Management shall be "FIPM";
(b) Members of the Institute of Personnel Management shall be "MIPM";
(c) Associates of the Institute of Personnel Management shall be "AIPM".

(1) There shall be a President, Vice-President and a National Treasurer of the Institute who shall be financial members in the grades of Associate, Member and Fellow of the Institute, to be elected annually at general meetings, and hold the same office for not more than three years continuously.
(2) The President shall be the chairman at meetings of the Institute, so however that in the event of the death, incapacity or inability for any reason of the President, the Vice-President shall act in his place for the unexpired portion of the term of office, or as the case may require, and references in this Act to the President shall be construed accordingly.
(3) The President, Vice-President and the National Treasurer shall respectively be chairman, vice-chairman and treasurer of the Council.
(4) If the President or the Vice-President or the National Treasurer ceases to be a member of the Institute he shall ipso facto cease to hold any of the offices designated under this section.

(1) There shall be, as the governing body of the Institute, a Council charged with responsibility for the administration and general management of the Institute.
(2) The Council shall consist of the following members, being financial members in the grades of Associate, Member and Fellow of the Institute, nominated or elected as follows, that is-
(a) the President of the Institute, who shall be the chairman;
(b) the Vice-President of the Institute, who shall be the vice-chairman;
(c) the National Treasurer who shall be the treasurer;
(d) one person representing the Ministry of Employment, Labour and Productivity;
(e) the immediate past President;
(f) five persons elected by the Institute;
(g) chairmen of branches;
(h) chairman, Board of Fellows; and
(i) chairmen of committees of Council.
(3)
The provisions of the First Schedule to this Act shall have effect with respect to the qualifications and tenure of office of members of the Council and the other matters therein mentioned.
[First Schedule]

(1) There shall be appointed annually by the Council, a Board of Fellows, to coordinate the activities of fellows of the Institute.
(2) The Board of Fellows shall consist of persons who have been duly elected as fellows of the Institute.

(1) The Council shall establish and maintain a fund, the management and control of which shall be in the hands of the Council and into which shall be paid-
(a) all moneys received by the Council in pursuance of this Act;
(b) all fees and other moneys payable to the Council in pursuance of subsection (1) of this section; and
(c) such moneys as may be provided by the Federal Government to the Council by way of grant or by way of loan or otherwise.
(2) There shall be paid out of the fund of the Institute-
(a) all expenditure incurred by the Council in the discharge of its functions under this Act;
(b) the remuneration and allowances of the Registrar and other employees of the Institute; and
(c) such reasonable travelling and subsistence allowances of members of the Council in respect of the time spent on the duties of the Institute, as the Council may determine.
(3) The Council may invest money in the fund in any security created or issued by or on behalf of the Government of the Federation or in any other securities in Nigeria as may be approved by the Council.
(4) The Council may, from time to time, borrow money for the purposes of the Institute and any interest payable on moneys so borrowed shall be paid out of the fund.
(5) The Council shall keep proper accounts on behalf of the Institute in respect of each year and proper records in relation to those accounts; and the Council shall cause the accounts to be audited by an auditor appointed from the list and in accordance with the guidelines supplied by the Auditor-General for the Federation.
(6) The auditor, appointed for the purposes of this section, shall not be a member of the Council.

(1) It shall be the duty of the Council to appoint a fit person to be the Registrar for the purposes of this Act and such other persons as the Institute may, from time to time, think necessary.
(2) The Registrar shall be the chief executive of the Institute and secretary to the Council.
(3) It shall be the duty of the registrar to prepare and maintain, in accordance with rules made by the Council, a register of names, addresses and approved qualifications and of such other relevant particulars as may be specified in the rules, of all persons who are entitled to be enrolled as fellows, members, associates and affiliates or registered as personnel management practitioners and who apply to be so registered.
(4) The register shall consist of five parts of which one part shall be in respect of fellows, the second part shall be in respect of members, the third part shall be in respect of associates, the fourth part shall be in respect of affiliates, and the fifth part shall be in respect of graduates and students.
(5) Subject to the following provisions of this section, the Council may make rules with respect to the form and keeping of the register and the making of entries therein, and in particular-
(a) the making of applications for enrolment;
(b) providing for notification to the Registrar, by the person to whom any registered particulars relate, to any change in those particulars;
(c) authorising a registered person to have any qualification which is, in relation to the relevant division of the profession, either an approved qualification or an accepted qualification for the purposes of this Act, registered in relation to his name in addition to or, as he may elect, in substitution for any other qualifications so registered;
(d) specifying the fees including subscription to be paid to the Institute in respect of the entry of names on the register and authorising the Registrar to refuse to enter a name on the register until any fee specified for the entry has been paid;
(e) specifying anything failing to be specified under the foregoing provisions of this section, but rules made for the purposes of paragraph (d) of this subsection shall not come into force until they are confirmed at a special meeting of the Institute convened for the purpose thereafter or at the next annual general meeting as the case may be.
(6) It shall be the duty of the Registrar-
(a) to correct, in accordance with the directions of the Council, any entry in the register which the Council directs him to correct as being in the opinion of the Council an entry which was incorrectly made;
(b) to make, from time to time, any necessary alteration to the registered particulars of registered persons;
(c) to remove from the register the name of any registered person who has died;
(d) to record the names of members of the Institute who are in default for more than four months in the payment of annual subscriptions, and to take such action in relation thereto (including removal of the names of defaulters from the register) as the Council under this Act, may direct or require.
(7) lf the Registrar-
(a) sends by post to any registered person a registered letter addressed to him at his address on the register enquiring whether the registered particulars relating to him are correct and receives no reply to the letter within the period of six months from the date of posting it; and
(b)
upon the expiration of that period send in the like manner to the person in question a second similar letter and receives no reply to that letter within three months from the date of posting it,
the Registrar may remove the particulars relating to the person in question from the register; so however that the Council may for any reason which seems to it sufficient direct the Registrar to restore to the appropriate part of the register any particulars removed therefrom under this subsection.

(1) It shall be the duty of the Registrar
(a) to cause the register to be printed, published and put out on sale to members of the public not later than two years from the appointed day; and
(b) in each year after that in which the register is first published under paragraph (a) of this subsection, to cause to be printed, published and put on sale as aforesaid either a corrected edition of the register or a list of alterations made to the register since it was last printed; and
(c)
to cause a print of each edition of the register and of each list of corrections to be deposited at the principal office of the Institute,
and it shall be the duty of the Council to keep the register and lists so deposited available at all reasonable times for inspection by members of the Institute.
(2) A document purporting to be a print of an edition of the register published under this section by authority of the Registrar or documents purporting to be prints of an edition of the register so published and of a list of corrections to that edition so published, shall (without prejudice to any other mode of proof) be admissible in any proceedings as evidence that any person specified in the document, or documents read together, as being registered, is so registered at the date of the edition or of the list of corrections, as the case may be, and that any person not so specified was not so registered.
(3) Where in accordance with subsection (2) of this section, a person is in any proceedings shown to have been or not to have been registered at a particular date, he shall, unless the contrary is proved, be taken for the purposes of those proceedings as having at all material times thereafter continued to be or not to be so registered.

(1) Subject to rules under section 7 of this Act, a person shall be entitled to be enrolled or registered as a personnel management practitioner if-
(a) he passes the qualifying examination accepted by the Council and completes the practical training prescribed by the Institute under this Act; or
(b) he holds any other qualification accepted by the Institute for the time being; or
(c) he qualifies for enrolment as member in any of the categories specified under subsection (4) (a) and (b) of section 1 of this Act.
(2)
An applicant for registration shall in addition to evidence of qualification, satisfy the Council that-
(a) he is of good character;
(b) he has attained the age of 21 years; and
(c) he has not been convicted in Nigeria or elsewhere of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty.
(3) The Council shall, from time to time, publish particulars of qualifications for the time being accepted by the Council for registration.

(1) The Council may approve any institution for the purposes of this Act and may for those purposes approve-
(a) any course of training at an approved institution which is intended for persons who are seeking to become or are already personnel management practitioners and which the Council considers is designed to confer on persons completing it sufficient knowledge and skill for admission into the Institute;
(b) any qualification which, as a result of an examination taken in conjunction with a course of training approved by the Council under this section, is granted to candidates reaching a standard at the examination, indicating in the opinion of the members of the Council that the candidates have sufficient knowledge and skill for the practice of the profession.
(2) The Council may, if it thinks fit, withdraw any approval given under this section in respect of any course, qualification or institution but before withdrawing such an approval the Council shall-
(a) give notice that it proposes to withdraw such approval to each person in Nigeria appearing to the Council to be a person by whom the course is conducted or the qualification is granted or the institution is controlled, as the case may be; and
(b) give each such person an opportunity of making to the Council representations with regard to the proposal; and
(c) take into consideration any representations made in respect of the proposal in pursuance of the last foregoing paragraph.
(3) Any period during which the approval of the Council under this section for a course, qualification or institution is withdrawn, the course, qualification or institution shall not be treated as approved under this section; but the withdrawal of such an approval shall not prejudice the registration or eligibility for registration of any person who, by virtue of the approval, was registered or eligible for registration immediately before the approval was withdrawn.
(4) The giving or withdrawal of an approval under this section shall have effect from such date, either before or after the execution of the instrument signifying the giving or withdrawal of the approval, as the Council may specify in that instrument and the Council shall-
(a) publish as soon as possible a copy of every such instrument in the print media; and
(b) not later than seven days before its publication as aforesaid, send a copy of the instrument to the Minister.

(1) It shall be the duty of the members of the Council to keep themselves informed of the nature of-
(a) the instructions given at approved institutions to persons attending approved courses of training; and
(b) the examinations as a result of which approved qualifications are granted, and for the purposes of performing that duty the Council may appoint, either from among its own members or otherwise, persons to visit approved institutions or to attend such examinations.
(2) It shall be the duty of the person appointed under subsection (1) of this section to report to the Council on-
(a) the sufficiency or otherwise of the instruction given to persons attending approved courses of training at institutions visited by him;
(b) the sufficiency of the examinations attended by him; and
(c)
any other matter relating to the institutions or examinations on which the Council may, either generally or in a particular case, request him to report,
but no visitor shall interfere with the giving of any instruction or the holding of any examination.
(3) On receiving a report made in pursuance of this section, the Council may, if it thinks fit and shall, if so required by the Institute, send a copy of the report to the person appearing to the Council to be in charge of the institution or responsible for the examinations to which the report relates, requesting that person to make observations on the report to the Council within such period as may be specified in the request, not being less than one month beginning with the date of the request.

(1) There shall be a tribunal to be known as the Personnel Management Disciplinary Tribunal (in this Act hereafter referred to as "the Tribunal"), which shall be charged with the duty of considering and determining any case referred to it by the Panel established by the following provisions of this section, and any other case of which the Tribunal has cognisance under the following provisions of this Act.
(2) The Tribunal shall consist of the chairman of the Council and six other members appointed by the Council.
(3) There shall be a body, to be known as Personnel Management Investigating Panel (in this Act referred to as "the Panel") which shall be charged with the duty of-
(a) conducting a preliminary investigation into any case where it is alleged that a member of the profession has misbehaved in his capacity as a personnel management practitioner, or should for any other reason be the subject of proceedings before the Tribunal; and
(b) deciding whether the case should be referred to the Tribunal.
(4) The Panel shall be appointed by the Council and shall consist of two members of the Council and three registered members who are not members of the Council.
(5)
The provisions of the Third Schedule to this Act shall, so far as they are applicable to the Tribunal and Panel respectively, have effect with respect to those bodies.
[Third Schedule]
(6) The Council may make rules not inconsistent with this Act as to acts which constitute professional misconduct.

(1) Where-
(a) a member is adjudged by the Tribunal to be guilty of infamous conduct in any professional respect; or
(b) a member is convicted, by any court in Nigeria or elsewhere having power to award imprisonment, of an offence (whether or not such offence is punishable with imprisonment) which in the opinion of the Tribunal is incompatible with the status of a personnel management practitioner; or
(c)
the Tribunal is satisfied that the name of any person has been fraudulently registered,
the Tribunal may, if it thinks fit, give a direction reprimanding that person or ordering the Registrar to strike his name off the relevant part of the register.
(2) The Tribunal may, if it thinks fit, defer its decision as to the giving of a direction under the foregoing subsection until a subsequent meeting of the Tribunal, but-
(a) no decision shall be deferred under this subsection for periods exceeding two years in the aggregate; and
(b) so far as possible no person shall be a member of the Tribunal for the purposes of reaching a decision which has been deferred or further deferred, unless he was present as a member of the Tribunal when the decision was deferred.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (1) (b) of this section, a person shall not be treated as convicted as therein mentioned unless the conviction stands at a time when no appeal or further appeal is pending or may (without extension of time) be brought in connection with the conviction.
(4) When the Tribunal gives a direction under subsection (1) of this section, the Tribunal shall cause notice of the direction to be served on the person to whom it relates.
(5) The person to whom such a direction relates may, at any time within 28 days from the date of service on him of notice of the direction, appeal against the direction to the Court of Appeal; and the Tribunal may appear as respondent to the appeal and, for the purpose of enabling directions to be given as to the costs of the appeal and of proceedings before the Tribunal, shall be deemed to be a party thereto whether or not it appears on the hearing of the appeal.
(6) A direction of the Tribunal under subsection (1) of this section shall take effect where-
(a) no appeal under this section is brought against the direction within the time limited for such an appeal, or on the expiration of that time;
(b) such an appeal is brought and is withdrawn or struck out for want of prosecution, on the withdrawal or striking out of the appeal;
(c)
such an appeal is brought and it is not withdrawn or struck out as aforesaid, if and when the appeal is dismissed,
and shall not take effect except in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this subsection.
(7) A person whose name is removed from the register in pursuance of a direction of the Tribunal under this section shall not be entitled to be registered again except in pursuance of a direction in that behalf given by the Tribunal on the application of that person; and a direction under this section for the removal of a person's name from the register, may prohibit an application under this subsection by that person until the expiration of such period from the date of the direction (and where he has duly made such an application, from the date of his last application) or as may be specified in the direction.

At the commencement of this Act, any person not a member of the former Institute who, but for this Act, would have been qualified to apply for and obtain membership of the profession may, within a period of three months beginning with the date of commencement of this Act, apply for membership of the Institute in such manner as may be prescribed by rules made by the Council and if approved, he shall be enrolled or registered, as the case may be, according to his qualifications.

A person shall be deemed as a personnel management practitioner if, in consideration of remuneration received or to be received, and whether by himself or in partnership with any other person he-(a) engages himself in the practice of personnel management or hold himself out to the public as a personnel management practitioner; or
(b) renders professional service or assistance in or about matters of principle or detail relating to personnel management or data; or
(c) renders any other service which may by regulations made by the Council be designated as service constituting practice as personnel management practitioner.

(1) The Council may make rules for-
(a) the training of suitable persons in personnel management;
(b) the licensing of people to be employed in personnel management positions;
(c) the fees to be paid by personnel management practitioners; and
(d) restrictions on the right to practise when all prescribed conditions have not been met.
(2) The Council may also make rules prescribing the amount and due date for payment of the annual subscription and for such purpose, different amounts may be prescribed by the rules according as the member of the Institute is a fellow, member, an associate, or an affiliate, or a registered graduate and student.
(3) Rules when made shall, if the chairman of the Council so directs, be published in the print media.

The Council shall be free to award honorary membership of the Institute to persons whom it considers worthy of such honour, on terms and conditions prescribed by Council and approved by the Institute in general meeting.

The Institute shall-(a) provide and maintain a library comprising books and publications for the advancement of knowledge of personnel management, and such other books and publications as the Council may think necessary for the purpose;
(b) encourage research into personnel management methods and allied subjects to the extent that the Council may from time to time consider necessary.

(1) Any regulations made under this Act shall be published in the print media as soon as may be after they are made.
(2) Rules made for the purposes of this Act shall be subject to confirmation by the Institute at its next annual general meeting or at any special meeting of the Institute convened for the purpose, and if then annulled shall cease to have effect on the day after the date of annulment, but without prejudice to anything done in pursuance or intended pursuance of any such rules.

(1) On the commencement of this Act-
(a) all properties held immediately before that day by or on behalf of the former Institute shall, by virtue of this subsection and without any further assurance, vest in the Institute and be held by it for the purposes of the Institute; and
(b) the former Institute shall cease to exist; and
(c) subject to the next succeeding subsection, any act, matter or thing made or done by the former Institute shall cease to have effect.
(2) The provisions of the Second Schedule to this Act shall have effect with respect to, and matters arising from the transfer by this section to the Institute of the property of the former Institute and with respect to the other matters mentioned in that Schedule.

(1) If any person for the purpose of procuring the registration of any name, qualification or other matter-
(a) makes a statement which he believes to be false in a material particular; or
(b) recklessly makes a statement which is false in a material particular, that person is guilty of an offence.
(2) If, on or after the commencement of this Act, any person not a member of the Institute practices as a registered member of the profession of personnel management for or in expectation of reward, or takes or uses any name, title, addition or description implying that he is in practice as a registered member of the profession of personnel management, he is guilty of an offence:
Provided that, in the case of a person falling within section 14 of this Act-
(a) this subsection shall not apply in respect of anything done by him during the period of three months mentioned in that section; and
(b) if within that period he duly applies for membership of the Institute, then, unless within that period he is notified that his application has not been approved, this subsection shall not apply in respect of anything done by him between the end of that period and the date on which he is enrolled or registered or is notified as aforesaid.
(3) If, on or after the commencement of this Act, a registered member of the profession holds himself out as or takes or uses any name, title, addition or description implying that he is a personnel practitioner, he is guilty of an offence.
(4) If the Registrar or any other person employed by or on behalf of the Institute willfully makes any falsification in any matter relating to the register, he is guilty of an offence.
(5) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable-
(a) on summary conviction to a fine of an amount not exceeding one thousand naira; or
(b) on conviction on indictment to a fine of an amount not exceeding five thousand naira or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or both.
(6) Where an offence under this section which has been committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate or any person purporting to act in any such capacity, he as well as the body corporate, shall be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-
"Board" means the Board of Fellows;
"Council" means the Council established as the governing body of the Institute under section 3 of this Act;
"enrolled" in relation to a fellow, a member, an associate member or an affiliate means registered in the part of the register relating to a fellow, member, associate member or affiliate as the case may be;
"fees" includes annual subscriptions;
"Institute" means the Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria established under section 1 of this Act;
"member" means member of the Institute;
"Minister" means the Minister charged with responsibility for matters relating to labour;
"President" and "Vice-President" means respectively the office holders under those names in the Institute;
"register" means the register maintained in pursuance of section 6 of this Act;
"Tribunal" has the meaning assigned thereto by section 11 of this Act.

This Act may be cited as the Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria Act.