Rear Admiral Ikechukwu Ogalla was appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the new chief of naval staff on Monday, 19th June 2023 to replace Rear Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo, who was appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2021. These are everything you need to know about Rear Admiral Ikechukwu Ogalla;
His Early Life, Academic Qualifications, Courses, Promotion History and Decorations
Rear Admiral Ikechukwu Ogalla was born on December 20, 1968, in Enugu Ezike, Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu State.
He obtained the West African School Certificate from the NMS Zaria in June 1987 where he graduated as the ‘Best Boy’ in Sciences.
He is the 24th Chief of Naval Staff.
He is a member of the 39 RC NDA, graduated with a BSc in Mathematics and was awarded the Sword of Honour as the best naval cadet in his course.
He was commissioned S Lt on September 16, 1992, and rose to the rank of R Adm wef on September 16, 21. He completed the STC NNS QUORRA, Basic Hydrography National Hydrographic School India in May 2000, Junior and Senior Staff Courses AFCSC Jaji on Nov 01 and Jul 06 respectively. He was a participant of NDC Course 22 and was awarded FDC on Aug 14.
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 cumulative 6-year tour of duty in NNHS, he taught geodesy, datum conversion, tidal predictions and analysis, satellite surveying, and bathymetry, among others.
As Comdt, he linked the School with Teledyn Marines, a reputable OEM in the US, which enabled the NN to procure several survey equipment from the company, leading to improvements in practical training.
He was also instrumental in the review of the School’s curriculum to align with IHO requirements. During his tour of duty in the NNHO, the senior officer was instrumental in the localisation of tidal prediction and analysis.
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 tour of duty at the NDC, he contributed towards the improvement of the College research package and also led the 2018 participants’ research study tour to China and South Korea.
As DLL he was responsible for collating and analysing previous NN Operations and activities with the objective of drawing lessons necessary for doctrinal and operational improvements.
The Senior officer is decorated with FSS, MSS, DSS and GSS. He is a member of the Nigerian Hydrographic Society, the Nigerian Institute of Management, the International Earth Rotation Services and also a fellow of the Occupational Safety and Health Association of the UK.
Marital Status
He is married to Mrs Ijeoma Ogalla and the marriage is blessed with two children.
Hobbies
His hobbies include jogging, reading, listening and researching about science and nature.
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