Nigeria, represented by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has been elected Vice President of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) General Assembly.

Nigeria was elected by acclamation to represent Africa, alongside Cape Verde, at the 22nd General Assembly of the UNWTO, which opened in Chengdu, China, on Wednesday. China was elected President of the Assembly.

Nigeria’s election followed the country’s unopposed nomination by the UNWTO Commission on Africa (CAF), which met a day earlier.

Reacting to Nigeria’s election, the Minister said: “To be called upon to serve as a Vice President of the General Assembly of the UNWTO is a very big honour to Nigeria.

“It has proven one thing, that in the last two years, we have succeeded in pushing tourism and the Creative Industry as a whole from the back burner to the front burner. From a side issue to the main issue. This has also been noticed by the global community and I feel highly gratified by it.”

Nigeria, which will serve on the UNWTO General Assembly until 2019, will host the 61st edition of the UNWTO CAF Meeting in Abuja on June 4-6, 2018.

•Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, heading the Nigerian delegation at the 22nd Session of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) General Assembly in Chengdu, China, on Wednesday.