Just in: Centenarian Nigeria’s first chartered accountant, Akintola Williams, exits

Nigeria’s doyen of accounting and first indigenous chartered accountant, Centenarian Pa Akintola Williams, has passed on.

Aged 104, Pa Williams died in his sleep in the early hours of Monday, September 11, 2023.

Williams, who was born in 1919, was instrumental in the development of the country’s financial sector.

The renowned accountant studied accounting at the University of London and qualified as a chartered accountant in 1947.

He returned to Nigeria and later set up his accounting firm, Akintola Williams & Co., now Deloitte & Touche, in 1952.

He was a founding member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and was president from 1963 to 1965. He was also a member of the National Board of Accountants and Auditors.

Williams received many awards and honors, including the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) and the Nigerian National Order of Merit (NNOM).

He was also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.