The Central Bank of Nigeria is offering ₦500 billion in Treasury Bills on September 23, a sale that could push September T‑Bill receipts to ₦2.4 trillion or more and will close the bank's Q3 issuance programme.
Acting for the Debt Management Office, the CBN invited banks and other investors to submit bids through its S4 Web Interface between 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday. Successful bidders will receive allotment letters on Thursday, September 24, and must settle payments into their CBN accounts by 11:00 a.m. that day.
The offer is split into ₦100 billion of 91‑day bills, ₦100 billion of 182‑day bills, and ₦300 billion of 364‑day bills. The total matches the previous auction size and remains well below the roughly ₦700 billion tranches that were standard for much of the quarter. The CBN retains the right to reject bids that fall short of expectations or to alter the amount on offer if market conditions require.
This sale concludes a quarter in which the issuance programme targeted ₦5.8 trillion in gross Treasury Bill sales between July and September. The quarterly plan allocated ₦900 billion to 91‑day bills, ₦900 billion to 182‑day bills, and ₦4 trillion to 364‑day bills, with the one‑year instrument accounting for about 69% of planned issuance.
About ₦2.644 trillion of T‑Bills were scheduled to mature during Q3, made up of ₦550.83 billion in 91‑day bills, ₦503.19 billion in 182‑day bills, and ₦1.591 trillion in 364‑day bills. Those maturities imply an estimated net new borrowing need of roughly ₦3.16 trillion for the quarter.
Across Q3 the CBN ran auctions on July 8, July 15, July 29, August 12, August 26, September 2 and September 9, ahead of the September 23 sale and the allotment day on September 24 that will close the quarter’s calendar. So far in September the bank has held two auctions whose combined allotments total close to ₦1.92 trillion. If the upcoming sale clears near its full size, monthly T‑Bill takings could reach or exceed ₦2.4 trillion, effectively capping the quarter’s programme.
Yields on Nigeria’s Treasury Bills have eased in recent weeks. The final Q3 auction arrives as the CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee prepares to meet on September 21-22 for its 307th session. Most analysts expect the committee to hold the policy rate at 26.5%, citing a rebound in Brent crude above $100 a barrel and political spending pressures ahead of the election cycle as reasons for continued caution even as Treasury Bill rates are gradually eased.
Successful bidders should note the tight settlement timetable: allotments on September 24 and payment due by 11:00 a.m. that day, a schedule that will determine how much of the stated ₦500 billion is ultimately absorbed into government funding this month.
