The House of Representatives Committee on Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) on Friday urged Nigerians to patronise home products to grow industries and check unemployment.

Boma Goodhead, the committee chairman, made the appeal when members visited John Zobis Group of Companies at Okoti-Odekpe in the Ogbaru Local Government of Anambra. The company produces cables and electrical equipment.

Ms Goodhead said the oversight visit was to ensure that the renewed national drive for industrial transformation is achieved unhindered.

She said President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for industrial transformation was to promote, monitor, and strengthen local content participation nationwide.

Ms Goodhead said the president’s directive, particularly those in the oil and gas, power, and manufacturing sectors, was sacrosanct, and all must patronise locally manufactured goods and services.

“The president’s directives are a strategic path to sustainable economic growth, job creation, and technological self-reliance.

“This committee will continue to provide the legislative muscle and oversight framework needed to ensure its full implementation across Nigeria’s industrial ecosystem.

“ By shining a spotlight on companies like Zobis Cable, we are sending a clear message that the era of dependency on imported cables and electrical materials must give way to homegrown technological advancement.

“John Zobis Cable is a strong demonstration of Nigerian resourcefulness, technical excellence, and commitment to national industrial growth based on the acceptance of its products in Africa and beyond,” she said.

Ms Goodhead said the scale of investment of the company showed that indigenous manufacturers were ready to compete globally if given the right policy support, visibility, and access to the value chain.

She assured the company and other indigenous manufacturers that the National Assembly would continue to provide the necessary legislative backing to enhance local production and ensure that Nigerian products receive due patronage globally.

Earlier, the state Commissioner for Industry, Christian Udechukwu, who represented Governor Chukwuma Soludo, said the state government had partnered with the company on the environment, security network, and electricity supply for effective and efficient production.

Mr Soludo said the partnership was to ensure local industries thrive and attract prospective investors for the general growth and development of the state and the nation at large.

John Ezeobi, the company’s chief executive officer, called on state and federal governments to assist local industries with funds, without unnecessary bottlenecks, to produce affordable products and enhance their growth.

(NAN)