Chief Abdukareem Adebisi Bamdele Akande (“Bisi Akande”; born 16 January 1939) was the 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.
In late 2003, rival factions of the AD held separate conventions. In the Lagos convention, Akande was elected as AD chairman.In January 2006, the convoy of AD leaders who supported Chief Mojisoluwa Akinfenwa faction instead of Akande as the party’s national chairman was attacked by thugs in Osogbo, the capital of Osun State. In a February 2006 interview, former Senator Moji Akinfenwa verbally attacked Akande and denied that he was head of the AD. Discussing Akande’s feud with his deputy, Iyiola Omisore, he acknowledged that most of the funding for Akande’s governorship campaign was donated by Omisore, but said it was a serious error to have accepted him as a running mate.
In June 2005, Akande attended an International Conference on Sustainable Democracy in Nigeria held at the Imperial College, London.[18] In October 2005, Akande visited the US to meet with AD supporters in the Nigerian diaspora.
Speaking in July 2006, Akande attacked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which he implied was not acting impartially. He defended the AD, which he said was stronger even than it had been in 1999. He called for a more decentralized, federal form of government.
Speaking in February 2009, Akande said the only solution to hostage-taking in the Niger Delta area was to give youths employment opportunities and to involve them in decision making. He cautioned against a military solution, saying in the past the military had looted the nation’s treasury and impoverished the people. Speaking in favour of democracy, he stated that when the AD governors accepted President Olusegun Obasanjo’s request to avoid local council polls, they fell into a trap. Obasanjo was able to select delegates who helped him win the 2003 elections.
In October 2009, the Osun State Commissioner for Education, Alhaji Jelili Adesiyan, blamed the poor performance of Osun State students in examinations on the administration of Akande, whom he asserted had neglected the schools.
In September 2006, the Akande faction merged with other opposition parties to form the Action Congress Party, which later changed their name to the Action Congress of Nigeria.
In February 2013 the party announced plans to merge with the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), and a faction of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to form the All Progressives Congress (APC).