Who is Akintola Williams?
Akintola Williams was a doyen of the accounting profession in Nigeria. He’s a Nigerian economist and founder of Africa’s first indigenous accounting firm.
He was also the first Nigerian to qualify as a chartered accountant.
Age
He was born on August 9, 1919, and died on September 11, 2023. Akintola Williams was 104 years old at the time of his death.
Tribe
He is from Lagos state, a southwestern state in Nigeria.
Williams began his impactful journey early on as a founding member of Egbé Odùduwà, along with late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and others.
Parents
Akintola Williams’s grandfather is Z. A. Williams, a merchant prince from Abeokuta. His father Thomas Ekundayo Williams was a clerk in the colonial service who set up a legal practice in Lagos after training in London, England.
Wife and children
Akintola Williams is married to Efuntiloye Mabel Williams. The marriage is blessed with children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. The names of some of his children are Seni Williams and Tokunbo Williams.
Education
Williams had his primary school education at Olowogbowo Methodist Primary School, Bankole street, Apongbon, Lagos Island, Lagos, in the early 1930s.
After graduating from primary school, Williams proceeded to CMS Grammar School, Lagos for hise secondary school education.
He would later attend Yaba Higher College courtesy a UAC scholarship. Williams obtained a diploma in commerce from Yaba Higher College and in 1944 travelled to English to study Banking and Finance at the University of London.
After his graduation in 1946, Williams didn’t rest in his academic pursuit until he qualified as a chartered accountant in England in 1949.
Career
After returning to Nigeria in 1950, Williams served with the Inland Revenue as an assessment officer until March 1952, when he left the civil service and founded Akintola Williams & Co. in Lagos.
The firm is the first indigenous accounting firm in Africa.
Awards and achievements
Oloye Williams played a significant role in the establishment of the Association of Accountants in Nigeria.
He was also the first president of the association. Williams was also involved in the establishment of the Nigeria Stock Exchange.
Public offices:
- Chairman of the Federal Income Tax Appeal Commissioners (1958–68)
- Member of the Coker Commission of Inquiry into the Statutory Corporations of the former Western Region of Nigeria (1962)
- Member of the board of Trustees of the Commonwealth Foundation (1966–1975)
- Chairman of the Lagos State Government Revenue Collection Panel (1973)
- Chairman of the Public Service Review Panel to correct the anomalies in the Udoji Salary Review Commission (1975)
- President of the Metropolitan Club in Victoria Island, Lagos
- Founder and Council member of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation
- Founder and chairman of the board of Trustees of the Musical Society of Nigeria.
Some of the Awards won by the legendary accountants include:
- O.F.R by the Federal Government in 1982
Disclaimer
The information in this article was curated from online sources. NewsWireNGR or its editorial team cannot independently verify all details.
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