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Life And Times Of Nigerian Doyen If Accountancy, Akintola Williams

Published

2 years ago

September 11, 2023

Editor

Pa Akintola Williams, the Nigerian doyen of accounting died in the early hours of Monday at the age of 104.

William, who was also a prominent founding figure of Lions Clubs International, died in sleep, at his residence, Lagos.

Here is the timeline of the Nigerian foremost accountant:

Early life and education
Chief Akintola Williams, the first chartered accountant in Nigeria, was born on August 9, 1919, in Lagos State.

His father, Thomas Ekundayo Williams, was a colonial service clerk who established a law practice in Lagos after receiving legal training in London, England. His grandfather, Z. A. Williams, was an Abeokuta-based merchant prince.

He was the senior sibling of the late Rev. James Kehinde Williams, a Christian clergyman, and Frederick Rotimi Williams, who eventually rose to prominence as a lawyer.

He had his primary education at Olowogbowo Methodist Elementary School, and secondary education at CMS Grammar School, both in Lagos

He continued his education with a UAC scholarship to Yaba Higher College, where he earned a diploma in commerce.

Williams then proceeded to England in 1944 to enrol at the University of London, where he earned a Bachelor of Commerce in 1946 after studying banking and finance.

He went to England, finished his education, and earned his chartered accountant certification in 1949.

Career and business life
Williams served as an assessment officer for the Inland Revenue after his return to Nigeria in 1950 until March 1952, when he left the government service and established Akintola Williams & Co. in Lagos State, which happened to be Africa’s first indigenous chartered accounting firm.

Five significant international corporations dominated the accounting sector at the time. Despite the fact that there were a few tiny local businesses, they were certified rather than chartered accountants.

Williams benefited from business from local firms such as the West African Pilot, founded by Nnamdi Azikiwe; the African Insurance Company, founded by K. O. Mbadiwe; the Fawehinmi Furniture Company; and the Ojukwu Transport Company.

Additionally, he rendered services to the new state-owned businesses, such as the Nigerian Railway Corporation, the Western Nigeria Development Corporation, the Eastern Nigeria Development Corporation, the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria, and the Nigerian Ports Authority.

His company, Akintola Williams & Co. in Lagos, which was established in 1952, expanded organically and through mergers to become Nigeria’s biggest professional services organisation by 2004.

Williams was engaged in the establishment of both the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and the Nigerian Stock Exchange. He has won numerous awards throughout the course of his lengthy career.

Charles S. Sankey, the company’s first partner, joined in 1957. Mr Njoh Litumbe, a Cameroonian, then took his place. Litumbe established satellite offices in Port Harcourt and Enugu, and she later led international expansion.

Some branches were established in Cameroon in 1964, and then branches were established in Swaziland and Côte d’Ivoire, as well as affiliates in Ghana, Egypt, and Kenya. The business employed 535 people and had 19 partners as of March 1992.

The Companies Act of 1968, which mandated that businesses doing business in Nigeria establish locally incorporated subsidiaries and release audited yearly accounts, increased demand. There was a drive to promote indigenous company ownership in the early 1970s.

The drive affected Chief Arthur Mbanefo’s management consulting firm, AW Consultant Ltd., which was spun off in 1973. In addition to acquiring a secretarial and computer service business, the company also entered into a profit-sharing agreement with Touche Ross International in 1977. Williams served on the boards of several additional businesses and was a significant shareholder in them. He left his job in 1983.

Akintola Williams & Co. combined with two other accounting companies between April 1999 and May 2004 to form Akintola Williams Deloitte (now known as Deloitte & Touche), the largest professional services company in Nigeria with more than 600 employees.

Honours and awards
Williams received the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) award from the Nigerian government in 1982.

After he retired in 1983, Williams devoted his time to a project to build a music centre and performance hall for the Music Society of Nigeria.

He was made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in April 1997 for contributions to the accounting industry and support of the Musical Society of Nigeria in promoting music, art, and culture.

In his honour, the Akintola Williams Arboretum is located inside the Nigerian Conservation Foundation’s main office in Lagos.

On May 8, 2011, John Kufuor, a former president of Ghana, and Akintola Williams received awards from the Nigeria-Britain Association in recognition of their services to democracy and development in Africa.

He was awarded ICAN’s first ever Gold Medal Merit Award in 1988.

News

Bandits Abduct Kebbi Deputy Speaker

Published

12 hours ago

November 1, 2025

Editor

The Deputy Speaker of the Kebbi State House of Assembly, Samaila Bambu, has reportedly been abducted by bandits suspected to be Lakurawa terrorists.

According to a resident familiar with the incident, Bambu was abducted on Friday evening in his hometown, Bagudo, in Bagudu Local Government Area of the state.

Confirming the incident, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Ahmed Idris, said he had just received the information when contacted by The PUNCH.

News

JAMB Flags 2,658 Admissions As Illegal

Published

13 hours ago

November 1, 2025

Editor

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has flagged a total of 2,658 admissions conducted during the 2024/2025 academic session as illegal.

The illegal admissions were flagged from a total of 17 universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, according to a breakdown of institutional analysis conducted by the board, which was obtained by our correspondent on Friday in Abuja.

This is as public universities ended the admission processes for the 2025/2026 academic session on Friday.

According to the data, the affected institutions with illegal admissions are: Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (1,847); Osun State University (492); Abubakar Tafari Ali Polytechnic (148); Federal College of Animal and Health Production (66); University of Calabar (28); College of Education, Oro (12); Michael and Cecilia Ibru University (12); Redeemer’s University (five); Pan-Atlantic University (five); Nigerian Army College of Education (two); Kwara State Polytechnic (one); and Best Solution Polytechnic (one), among others.

JAMB categorises admissions conducted outside its Central Admissions Processing System, popularly known as CAPS, as illegal.

Over the years, the board has issued directives to institutions and candidates on the dangers of issuing and accepting admissions outside CAPS.

During the 2025 policy meeting organised by the board, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, warned that severe sanctions, including withdrawal of assets and punishment of officials, would be meted out to institutions involved in illegal admission racketeering.

CAPS, introduced in 2017, is being implemented to ensure transparency, fairness, and merit-based admissions, according to JAMB.

Candidates can track admission offers, accept or reject admissions, and verify their statuses.

Students who accept admissions outside CAPS risk ineligibility for the mandatory National Youth Service Scheme.

News

Gombe Wins Northeast Quiz Competition On Legislature, Democracy

Published

2 days ago

October 31, 2025

Editor

Gombe State has emerged as the winner at the 2025 North East Zonal Quiz Competition on legislature and democracy organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) for senior secondary schools across Northeast on Friday.

Speaking before the commencement of the 2025 edition of the zonal debate which focuses on the legislature, democracy and governance, the Director-General of NILDS, Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, said the exercise was to deepen the knowledge of legislative and democratic governance among secondary school students and youth.

According to him, it was also to broaden their knowledge on the history, practice and procedure of the legislature and encourage deeper understanding of civic and democratic governance.

The competition, he added, would stimulate the interest of the young students in politics and make them more proactive in matters relating to the legislature and democracy.

He explained that enhancing the knowledge of young Nigerians in the legislature would not only foster an inclusive and participatory legislature in Nigeria but would also serve as an avenue for citizen engagement in the legislative process.

Represented by Mr Jeremiah Agada, NILDS Northeast Zonal Quiz Coordinator, Sulaiman added that the quiz competition would take place in all the six geo-political zones and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“It is also to inspire young Nigerians to cultivate the interest to participate in legislative governance.

“This 10th edition of the competition is therefore the fourth time the competition has been held at the national level.

“As the 2025 NILDS Zonal quiz competition is declared open, I therefore urge all competing students and their teachers to abide by the rules of the game so that the desired objectives of the competition are achieved,” he said.

Also speaking, the Bauchi State’s Commissioner for Education, Dr Muhammed Lawal, said the exercise was a welcome development in the circle of education, adding that it was a ground where students in the zone could be tested among other students in the country.

“This will enable us to improve the quality of our delivery in our various schools to our teeming students across the zone.

“I want them to take it upon themselves that in an engagement like this, there is no loser. You put in your best, and if at the end of the day, you don’t make it up to the top, your efforts will be crowned.

“I hope this will be well covered because it will stimulate other schools to be part of and perform better so that they can come up to this level as well,” he said.

Mohammed appreciated the commitment of teachers and moderators who coached the students to fully participate in the competition and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to revamping the education sector under Gov. Bala Mohammad’s leadership.

Announcing the winner of the competition, the Quiz Master Mr. Lucky Tongs, announced Gombe State as the overall winner of the debate with 75 points

He also announced Taraba State as the first runner up with 55 points and Yobe State as the third position with 50 points, adding that the winner is expected to represent the Northeast sub-region at the National competition in Abuja.

Other states that participated in the competition included Adamawa and Bauchi.