Nigeria’s ex-Minister of Information and Culture during the administration of  ex-President Muhammadu Buhari has been appointed Special Advisor to the Secretary of  United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), Zurab Pololikashvili.

The announcement, according to the Vanguard newspaper, was made during the opening session of  66th Commission for Africa (CAF) meeting in Mauritius.

Mohammed, who throughout his eight-year tenure as supervisory minister for tourism in Nigeria alienated himself  from industry practitioners and did little for the industry  outside attracting hosting rights to UNWTO programmes,  is expected to help the secretary General pursue objective of making Africa a key region for global tourism economy through his agenda for Africa programme. 

Meanwhile, tourism leaders from across Africa  met in Mauritius  to discuss  how to  rethink and realign the sector’s role as a driver of development and opportunity across the region.

Accepting the new role, Lai Mohammed expressed his gratitude, saying that he was inspired by the confidence reposed in him by the Secretary General.

“I stand before you, deeply touched and inspired by your generous words of confidence and trust. With so much gratitude for the confidence placed in me by the Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Mr. Zurab Pololikashivili and with an unswerving resolve to honour that trust, I humbly accept the appointment as the Special Advisor on Tourism to the Secretary General of this great Organization.”