Amao held several positions in the
Nigerian Air Force and was prior to his appointment was the air component commander of the operation against the Nigerian insurgents that was tagged Zaman Lafiya Dole / Lafiya Dole in North-East Nigeria and was also the air officer commanding Tactical Air Command (TAC). Operationally, as a seasoned fighter instructor pilot on the Alpha Jet, Air Marshal Amao served as a squadron pilot at the 99 (now 407) Air Combat Training Group Kainji and the 75 (now 103) Strike Group Yola. He subsequently worked as an instructor pilot at both the 301 (now 401) Flying Training School Kaduna and the 303 (now 403) Flying Training School Kano, with over 1,500 jet and instructional hours to his credit. He has participated in the draw-down of the Africa-led International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA), as well as the counter-insurgency Operations Zaman Lafiya and Lafia Dole in the North East of Nigeria. He went on to become air component commander for both operations also serving as deputy theatre commander for the latter. In these roles, he oversaw synergistic employment of Air Power to effectively support land forces in sustaining stabilization operations across the North East Theatre. The air marshal then rose to the position of air officer commanding Tactical Air Command, the lead combat element (often referred to as the "teeth") of the Nigerian Air Force. Amao was at various times the air assistant to the chief of the Air Staff, assistant director of operations, director of policy, director of training as well as director of operations at Headquarters Nigerian Air Force. He has also served as deputy defence adviser and acting defence adviser at the Nigerian High Commission in
London, United Kingdom, chief of training and operations and subsequently chief of policy and plans at Headquarters Nigerian Air Force. Most recently, until his appointment as the twenty-first chief of the Air Staff, Amao was the commandant of the Armed Forces Resettlement Centre, Oshodi, a key institution tasked with the responsibility of training and empowering military personnel for post-service re-integration into the civil society. He is an alumnus of the
Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji as well as the
Defence Services Staff College,
India. He is a Fellow of the
PLA National Defence University.
China and holds a Master of Science in defence and strategic studies from the
University of Madras India as well as a Master of Military Science and Strategy from the National Defence University China. He is also a certified aircraft accident investigator trained in
Karachi, Pakistan and at the
Nigerian College of Aviation Technology,
Zaria Nigeria as well as being a qualified flying instructing (QFI). ==Personal life==