10 things you should know about the new Chief of Naval Staff, Ikechukwu Ogalla

Rear Admiral Ikechukwu Ogalla was appointed as the new Chief of Naval Staff by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday, June 19, 2023.

Ogalla succeeded Vice Admiral Auwal Zubairu Gambo, the 23rd Chief of Naval Staff following the removal of all Service Chiefs by the president.

The appointment of the senior naval officer sparked a conversation on social media as Nigerians seek information about him.

Here are 10 things you’ll like to know about the 55-year-old naval officer.

• Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla was born in Enugu Ezike, Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu State on Friday, December 20, 1968.
• Ogalla obtained the West African School Certificate from the NMS Zaria in June 1987 where he graduated as the ‘Best Boy’ in Sciences.
• He is a member of the 39 RC NDA, graduated with a BSc in Mathematics and was awarded Sword of Honour as the best naval cadet in his course.
• The naval senior officer had his Post NDC MSc programme at the University of Ibadan from 2014 to 2015.
• He is the 24th Chief of Naval Staff and 2nd from the Southeast region. Allison Amaechina Madueke also from Enugu was the first Chief of Naval Staff of Igbo extraction. He served from November 1993 to August 1994.
• Rear Admiral Ogalla is a member of 39 Regular Course of the Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA).
• He has served on board many ships including NNS AMBE, ARADU, LANA, EKUN, AGU, QUORRA, BEECROFT, DELTA and PATHFINDER.
• Before his appointment, Ogalla was the Director Lessons Learnt at NHQ (PPLANS).
• He is married to Mrs Ijeoma Ogalla and the marriage is blessed with two children.
• Ogalla’s hobbies include jugging, reading, listening and researching about science and nature.