Atiur Rahman’s final day as the governor of Bangladesh Bank was full of uncertainties, according to one of his close aides.
The hectic hours that led to his resignation as the central bank chief started to gain momentum after Atiur landed at Dhaka airport at 4pm on Monday following a three-day tour to New Delhi.
Immediately after arriving, he was briefed by his protocol officer, AFM Asaduzzaman, about the situation surrounding the $101m cyber heist. Atiur was also informed that that he had been asked to meet Finance Minister AMA Muhith as soon as possible.
But he first went to his own residence to freshen up before starting for Muhith’s house at 6pm.
When Atiur returned from his meeting with the minister, he seemed anxious, Asaduzzaman told the Dhaka Tribune. In the evening, the immediate-past governor also tried to get an appointment with the prime minister, he said.
Atiur spent the night alone at his home as his family members were all in Washington.
Asaduzzaman said he received a call from his boss at 7am on Tuesday, asking him to come to the governor’s residence right away. Hearing Atiur’s voice, it was the first time he could guess that something was wrong, the protocol officer said.
Atiur then directed Asaduzzaman to invite some selected journalists to his residence around 10am. The governor then briefed those journalist about his stance, explaining that he was ready to resign despite being confident that he would not have to.
Around 11am, the governor got an appointment from Prime Minister’s Office with hints that he would have to step down.
Even though Atiur – during his seven-year tenure as the BB chief – had always had an entry pass ready for him at the PMO gate, on Tuesday he had to sign the visitor’s log before receiving the pass.
Atiur also had to wait a while before he finally had the chance to meet Sheikh Hasina. When Atiur entered the premier’s office, he looked nervous and gloomy, Asaduzzaman said. But Atiur had a smile on his face when he emerged around one and a half hour later.
“I could not control my emotion and was weeping when I saw the governor coming out from prime minister’s office as he had to resign,” Asaduzzaman said.
Governor embraced him with tears in his eyes and said: “As the prime minister shed tears for me, so resigning is a good decision for me.”
During their meeting, Hasina reportedly instructed Atiur to brief himself to the media and explain whatever he wanted to say.
Asaduzzaman was then asked to arrange a press conference in the afternoon, where Atiur formally announced his resignation.
