Wahab Akbar was born in
Lantawan,
Basilan where his father, Hadji Mohtamad Salajin, served as the town's first mayor. At age 11 Akbar joined his father to fight in the mountains, but after three years Salajin was persuaded to join the government and was appointed mayor of Lantawan by President
Ferdinand Marcos. He studied
agriculture at Gregorio Araneta University (now
De La Salle Araneta University), A member of the
Liberal Party, Akbar was first elected governor of
Basilan in the
1998 elections. He was reelected in
2001 and
2004. Akbar was constitutionally barred from seeking a fourth consecutive term as governor. Instead, he successfully sought
election to the
Congress, representing the
lone district of his home province. One of his wives won the election to succeed him as governor. Another of his wives is mayor of the provincial capital,
Isabela City; A third wife ran, and lost, the race to be mayor of another city in Basilan. He was strongly suspected of having ties with the
Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic extremist group linked to
Al Qaeda, with some reports even claiming that he was a founding member and a commander until a falling-out with the group. ==Personal life==