Meet Osasere Okundaye, Nigeria’s youngest Chartered Accountant at 16

• At 16 years old, Osasere Okundaye has become Nigeria's youngest chartered accountant, surpassing the previous record set in 2022 by Jonathan Adewale, who qualified at age 17.

• Encouraged by her parents, Okundaye began her ICAN journey at age 13 through the Accounting Technicians Scheme (ATS) after finishing secondary school early. Despite lacking a background in accounting and having failed her final paper last year, she persevered and passed her rewrite in May.

• Her milestone was celebrated publicly by Daniel Olukoya, the General Overseer of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM), where she shared her testimony, and by Ayodele Olawande, the Minister of Youth Development, who praised her hard work and resilience.

​Okundaye spoke on Saturday during the Power Must Change Hands monthly programme at the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries headquarters in Magboro, Ogun State.

​On Monday, the 16-year-old student was announced as the country’s youngest chartered accountant.

​Sharing her testimony before the congregation, Okundaye said her parents encouraged her to enrol for ICAN’s accounting technicians scheme (ATS) examinations instead of waiting until she was old enough for university admission.

​She said: “I am 16 years old. I started this ICAN journey three years ago after finishing my secondary school early. My parents encouraged me to start writing the ICAN examinations through ATS instead of just waiting around until I got to the right age for university.”

​She added that “I wasn’t an accounting student in secondary school, so the exams, especially at the first level, proved very difficult, more difficult than they probably were for other people at the same level. But I had to put in extra effort, and with the grace of God, I was able to pass that first level. Ever since then, it has been a success.”

​“Last year, I failed one of my final papers, unfortunately, which I had to rewrite earlier this year in May. To the glory of God, I passed that examination, and now I can say that I am a qualified accountant of the institute at 16 years old,” she recalled.

​The founder and general overseer of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM), Daniel Olukoya, also celebrated Okundaye after she became Nigeria’s youngest chartered accountant at 16.

​Sharing the video, the cleric congratulated the teenager, her family and other church members.

​In his post, he wrote:  “Today, we celebrate with one of our own, Osasere Okundaye, as she shares the inspiring testimony of becoming Nigeria’s youngest Chartered Accountant at just 16 years old.”

​He said her achievement reflected “God’s faithfulness” as well as diligence, discipline and commitment to excellence.

​Olukoya prayed that the milestone would mark the beginning of greater accomplishments in her life.

​In a statement announcing the achievement, Ayodele Olawande, minister of youth development, congratulated Okundaye.

​“This remarkable milestone is a testament to the power of hard work, discipline, resilience and an unwavering commitment to excellence,” the minister said.

​Osasere Okundaye recently became Nigeria’s youngest chartered accountant after qualifying through ICAN at the age of 16, surpassing the previous record set in 2022 by Jonathan Adewale, who qualified at 17.