Adebisi Akande
| Chief Adebisi Akande | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Governor of Osun State | |
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In office May 1999 – May 2003 |
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| Preceded by | Theophilus Bamigboye |
| Succeeded by | Olagunsoye Oyinlola |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 16 January 1939 Ila Orangun, Osun State, Nigeria |
| Political party | All Progressives Congress (APC) |
| Profession | Politician |
Abdukareem Adebisi Bamidele Akande ("Bisi Akande"") was a governor of Osun State, Nigeria from 1999–2003, as a member of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) party, and was the first interim Chairman of the All Progressives Congress.
Chief Adebisi Akande was born in Ila Orangun on 16 January 1939 in what is now the Osun Central Senatorial district. Akande was deputy governor of Oyo State between 1979 and 1983 when Bola Ige was governor (Osun State was formerly part of Oyo State). He was elected on the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) platform. Akande was described as the nephew of Chief Bola Ige.
Adebisi Akande was elected governor of Osun State in April 1999, running for the Alliance for Democracy (AD) party, which had recently formed as a political arm of the Yoruba socio-cultural organization Afenifere. He succeeded Col. Theophilus Bamigboye, who had been named as the military administrator of the State in August 1998, and who handed over power on 29 May 1999. On 31 May 1999 Adebisa Akande inaugurated the second Assembly in Osun State.
In January 2000, the Osun State government sacked 143 staff of the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation, following the governor’s earlier vow to trim the state’s work force. Adebisi Akande dissolved the state Council of Obas and Chiefs in 2001, on the ground that it was too large. The dissolution may have been caused by a dispute between the then head of the royal council, the Ooni of Ile-Ife and Akande, in turn part of a face-off between Akande and the deputy governor, Iyiola Omisore.
A November 2001 appraisal of Osun State said that Adebisi Akande was battling an unfriendly work force, and the state was also troubled by long-standing violence between the Ife and Modakeke clans. However, Akande had implemented his party's programs for providing free education and free medical care, and had improved water supplies. A different appraisal, two months later, noting the governor had recently survived an impeachment attempt, said that rather than improving social services and generating employment, after two years in power Akande had implemented massive staff lay offs in the public service, and had caused virtual collapse of public infrastructure.
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