JUST IN: AKINTOLA WILLIAMS, AN ACCOUNTING ICON, HAS DIED AT THE AGE OF 104.

Babatunji Wusu –

Pa Akintola Williams, Nigeria’s first indigenous certified accountant and Lions Clubs International member, has died.

Akintola Williams died in his sleep on Monday morning, aged 104, at his home in Lagos.

Akintola Williams, a University of London accounting graduate, was born in 1919.

He attended Yaba Higher College on a UAC scholarship and graduated with a certificate in business. He moved to England in 1944 to study at the University of London. He earned a Bachelor of Commerce in 1946 after studying Banking and Finance. In 1949, he completed his studies and became a chartered accountant in England.

In 1952, he established Akintola Williams & Co, Africa’s first indigenous chartered accounting business, in Lagos.

He was a founder member and the first president of the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Williams was instrumental in creating the Nigerian Association of Accountants in 1960 with the purpose of teaching accountants. He was the organization’s first president. He was also instrumental in the development of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

The Nigerian government awarded Akintola Williams the Order of the Federal Republic in 1982.

In April 1997, Queen Elizabeth bestowed the title Commander of the British Empire on him.