The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), acting on behalf of the Debt Management Office (DMO), will offer N700 billion worth of Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs) at its first auction for September 2026 as the third quarter borrowing programme enters its final stretch.
The auction, scheduled for September 3, will cover the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day Treasury Bills, with the bulk of the offer concentrated on the one-year tenor.
According to the CBN’s Invitation to Tender obtained by Nairametrics, authorised Money Market Dealers are required to submit bids through the CBN S4 Web Interface between 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 2, 2026.
The N700 billion offer comprises N100 billion for the 91-day bill, N100 billion for the 182-day bill and N500 billion for the 364-day bill.
- 91-day NTB: N100 billion
- 182-day NTB: N100 billion
- 364-day NTB: N500 billion
- Total: N700 billion
Bids must be submitted in multiples of N1,000, subject to a minimum bid of N50.001 million. Dealers may submit multiple bids either for their own accounts or on behalf of non-Money Market Dealers and members of the public.
The CBN also reserves the right to reject any bid or adjust the amount offered depending on prevailing market conditions.
The auction result is expected to be announced on Wednesday, September 2, while allotment letters will be issued on Thursday, September 3. Successful bidders are required to make payment to the CBN by 11:00 a.m. on September 3.
The September 3 auction is one of three final NTB auctions scheduled under the third-quarter programme, which originally provides for N5.8 trillion in Treasury Bill issuance between July and September 2026.
The programme consists of:
- N900 billion in 91-day bills;
- N900 billion in 182-day bills; and
- N4 trillion in 364-day bills.
The 364-day tenor accounts for about 69% of the planned issuance, making it by far the dominant instrument in the programme.
Treasury Bills worth N2.644 trillion are expected to mature during the quarter. After accounting for these maturities, the programme implies estimated net new borrowing of about N3.16 trillion.
The latest auction comes against the backdrop of aggressive liquidity management by the apex bank.
The CBN had initially scheduled N700 billion auctions for July 8, July 29, August 5, August 12, August 26 and September 2. However, the August 5 auction was cancelled following a series of Open Market Operations (OMO) sales that had already absorbed substantial liquidity from the financial system.
The Q3 programme has also recorded temporary liquidity injections when maturing Treasury Bills were not immediately replaced with fresh issuance.
Bills worth N378.43 billion matured on July 22, while another N429.23 billion matured on August 19, releasing additional liquidity into the banking system.
The CBN subsequently returned to the Treasury Bills market to mop up excess liquidity.
At the August 12 auction, investors submitted bids worth N4.4 trillion against the N700 billion advertised, with the 364-day bill alone attracting N4.19 trillion in demand. Its stop rate subsequently rose by 24 basis points to 17.59 per cent.
At the August 26 auction, however, the CBN reduced the stop rate on the one-year bill by 44 basis points to 17.15 per cent, after raising the rate at the previous auction.
