Following President Bola Tinubu’s sacking of Service Chiefs on Monday, Rear Admiral Ikechukwu Ogalla has been named as the new Chief of Naval Staff.
Rear Admiral Awwal Gambo, who was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2021, is replaced by Ogalla.
See Rear Admiral Ogalla’s profile below:
Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla was born on December 20, 1968 in Enugu Ezike, Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu State.
In June 1987, he graduated as the ‘Best Boy’ in Sciences from the NMS Zaria with the West African School Certificate.
He is a member of the 39 RC NDA, has a BSc in Mathematics, and was awarded the Sword of Honour for being the finest naval cadet in his course.
On September 16, 1992, he was commissioned as S Lt and advanced to the rank of R Adm wef on September 16, 21. In May 2000, he passed the STC NNS QUORRA, Basic Hydrography National Hydrographic School India, and the Junior and Senior Staff Courses AFCSC Jaji, respectively. He completed NDC Course 22 and received his fdc in August 2014.
As part of the Course, he took part in the MSc Strategic Studies programme, University of Ibadan from 2014 to 2015.
The senior officer served on board many ships including NNS AMBE, ARADU, LANA, EKUN, AGU, QUORRA, BEECROFT, DELTA and PATHFINDER.
While on board NNS EKUN, he took part in the ECOMOG Operations in Liberia in 1996. Also as the Base operations officer in NNS PATHFINDER, he was responsible for coordinating anti illegal bunkering operations as well the entire policing duties of the base.
During the period there was a remarkable reduction in illegal activities in the maritime area within the base area of operations.
The senior officer also served as Instructor, CI and Comdt NNHS, SO 1 Survey and DD Instruments NNHO, ADCP, DD Hydro and DPR NHQ, as well as DS/ DARAS NDC and D Audit NASS NHQ. He is currently the DLL NHQ.
During his 6-year tenure at NNHS, he taught geodesy, datum conversion, tidal forecasts and analysis, satellite surveying, and bathymetry, among other subjects.
As Comdt, he connected the School with Teledyn Marines, a reputable OEM in the United States, allowing the NN to obtain many survey equipment from the company, resulting in improved practical instruction.
He was also crucial in aligning the School’s curriculum with IHO regulations. The senior officer was essential in the localisation of tidal prediction and analysis during his tour of service with the NNHO.
He participated in the FAO sponsored Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem survey in 2004 and provided professional inputs during the survey and production of the NNHO charts.
During his time at the NDC, he helped to develop the College’s research package and led the 2018 participants on a research study visit to China and South Korea.
As DLL, he was in charge of compiling and analyzing prior NN operations and activities in order to draw the essential lessons for doctrinal and operational advancements.
FSS, MSS, DSS, and GSS are awarded to the senior officer. He is a member of the Nigerian Hydrographic Society, the Nigerian Institute of Management, the International Earth Rotation Services, and the Occupational Safety and Health Association of the United Kingdom.
He is married to Mrs Ijeoma Ogalla and the marriage is blessed with two children.
His hobbies include jugging, reading, listening and researching about science and nature.
