He appointed Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla to replace Awwal Gambo as Chief of Naval Staff.
President Bola Tinubu made sweeping changes to Nigeria's armed forces on Monday, retiring all service chiefs and the inspector general of police.
Mr Tinubu, who was sworn in on May 29, has made security one of his major priorities and promised reforms to the sector, including the recruitment of more soldiers and police officers while paying and equipping them better.
He appointed Emmanuel Ogalla, a rear admiral, to replace Awwal Gambo as Chief of Naval Staff.
Mr Ogalla, 55, is from Ezike Igbo Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu State.
In 1987, he obtained the West African School Certificate from Nigerian Military School Zaria where he graduated as the best boy in Sciences. He had A1 in all subjects except in the English language. He is a member of the Nigeria Defence Academy 39th Regular Course where he graduated with a BSc in Maths and was awarded the sword of honour as the best naval cadet in his course.
Mr Ogalla was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1992 and he rose to the rank of rear admiral in September 2021. In May 2000, he completed the Sub Lieutenant Technical Course (STC) of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) QUORRA.
He then went to Basic Hydrography National Hydrographic School in India. When he returned to Nigeria, he took Junior and Senior Staff Courses at Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC) Jaji in November 2001 and July 2006 respectively.
The senior officer was a participant in National Defence College (NDC) Course 22 and was awarded the title of fellow defence college (fdc) in August 2014. As part of the course, he took part in the MSc Strategic Studies programme of the University of Ibadan from 2014 to 2015.
He served on board many ships including Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) AMBE, NNS EKUN, NNS DELTA and NNS PATHFINDER, according to his resume obtained by PREMIUM TIMES. While on board NNS EKUN, he took part in the Economic Community Cease-Fire Monitoring Group, (ECOMOG) Operations in Liberia in 1996. ECOMOG was set up by a group of West African nations under the auspices of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to end the bloody civil war in Liberia, in August 1990.
As the Base operations officer in NNS PATHFINDER, Mr Ogalla was responsible for coordinating anti-illegal bunkering operations as well the entire policing duties of the base. It was learnt that during the period, there was a remarkable reduction in illegal activities in the maritime area within the base area of operations.
Until his new appointment, he was the DLL at the Navy Headquarters in Abuja. During his cumulative 6-year tour of duty in the Nigerian Navy Hydrographic School (NNHS), he taught geodesy, datum conversion, tidal predictions and analysis, satellite surveying, and bathymetry, among others.
As Commandant, he linked the School with Teledyn Marines, a reputable Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) in the United States, which enabled the Nigerian Navy 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 International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO) requirements, his career details show.
During his tour of duty in the Nigerian Navy Hydrographic Office (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.
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His tour of duty at the Nigerian Defence College saw him contribute immensely towards the improvement of the college's research package and also led the 2018 participants on a research study tour to China and South Korea.
As DLL, his last position until Monday, he was responsible for collating and analysing previous NN Operations and activities with the objective of drawing lessons necessary for doctrinal and operational improvements.
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.
He is married to Ijeoma Ogalla and the marriage is blessed with two children. His hobbies include jogging, reading, listening and researching about science and nature.
