By Seun Ibiyemi
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced a Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs) auction valued at N450 billion, significantly below the N1 trillion offer size indicated in the revised second-quarter borrowing programme of the Debt Management Office (DMO).
According to an official notice issued to Primary Money Market Dealers (PMMDs), the auction is scheduled for Wednesday, June 17, while settlement will take place on June 18.
The treasury bills will be offered through the Dutch Auction System across three maturities, comprising N150 billion worth of 91-day bills, N50 billion in 182-day bills and N250 billion in 364-day bills.
Under the auction guidelines, dealers are expected to submit bids electronically through the CBN’s Scripless Securities Settlement System (S4) between 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. on the auction date.
The apex bank stipulated that each bid must have a minimum value of N50.001 million and be submitted in multiples of N1,000.
Authorised Market Dealers are permitted to submit multiple bids either on their own behalf or for clients.
Successful bidders will receive allotment letters on June 18 and are required to fund their accounts with the CBN by 11:00 a.m. on the settlement date.
However, the central bank noted that it reserves the right to increase or reduce the amount offered or reject bids depending on prevailing market conditions.
The auction announcement has raised questions within the financial market following the DMO’s revised borrowing calendar, which increased the total second-quarter Treasury Bills issuance programme to N4.8 trillion from N3.95 trillion announced in April.
The revised calendar had earmarked N1 trillion for the June Treasury Bills auction as part of efforts to raise additional funds to meet government financing requirements.
Market participants are therefore seeking clarification on whether the CBN has reduced the offer size to the original level or intends to accommodate additional demand through oversubscription.
The discrepancy between the DMO’s revised programme and the CBN’s auction notice has created uncertainty regarding the final amount that may eventually be raised from the market.
At the previous NTB auction held earlier in June, the CBN offered N1 trillion worth of treasury bills and reportedly accepted subscriptions of about N1.2 trillion, reflecting strong investor appetite for government securities.
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Despite the changes in borrowing plans, total Treasury Bills maturities for the second quarter of 2026 remain estimated at N3.197 trillion.
However, net new borrowing under the revised programme has increased significantly to about N1.6 trillion, compared with the initial target of approximately N753 billion.
Analysts say the latest auction will provide further insight into the government’s liquidity management strategy and investor demand for fixed-income instruments amid evolving fiscal and monetary conditions.
