Sajeeb Wazed Resigns As ICT advisor

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's son Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed has resigned as her information and technology advisor as part of an ongoing effort to scale back the cabinet ahead of the 12th national elections.

His resignation has been accepted by Hasina, said MM Imrul Kayes, the prime minister's assistant press secretary, on Wednesday (November 29).

Sajeeb's resignation comes after Science and Technology Minister Yeafesh Osman, Post and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar and State Minister for Planning Shamsul Alam stepped aside from their posts on Nov 19. They were part of the cabinet as technocrats who were not elected to public office in parliament.

Mashiur Rahman, the prime minister’s economic affairs advisor, Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, her power, energy and mineral resources advisor, and Gowher Rizvi, her international affairs advisor, also tendered their resignation on the same day.

Advisors to the prime minister are also not elected officials, but they hold the rank of minister.

The other advisors to the prime minister are Tarique Ahmed Siddique, a retired army major general, who serves as Hasina's security advisor, and Salman F Rahman, her private industry and investment advisor. Salman's future is not in question since he is an MP.

Sajeeb's appointment was made by the Prime Minister's Office and was entirely unpaid, Cabinet Secretary Md Mahbub Hossain had said on Nov 20.

"The Cabinet Division will deal with those whose appointments were processed by it. Those who have been asked to resign by the prime minister have submitted their resignations.”

IT expert Sajeeb had previously served as the information and communication technology advisor to the prime minister in the last Awami League government. After the 11th parliamentary election, Hasina handed back the responsibility to her son on Jan 15, 2019.

In a media briefing on Oct 31, Hasina announced plans to downsize the cabinet before the elections as during the 11th parliamentary elections, and said the government would only perform routine tasks in the interim period.