The Federal Government's October 2026 bond auction drew total subscriptions of N1.75 trillion, with the Debt Management Office (DMO) allotting N1.21 trillion across three reopened instruments, according to results released for the October 19 sale.
Investors placed bids across the February 2034, September 2036 and June 2038 papers, with maturities running from February 2034 to June 2038. Successful bids were assigned at marginal rates between 16.99% and 17.29%.
Demand was heaviest in the September 2036 bond, which received N925.35 billion in subscriptions against an N800 billion offer. The June 2038 instrument followed with N518.32 billion against N450 billion offered, while the February 2034 bond recorded N304.08 billion against N500 billion offered, leaving that tenor undersubscribed relative to its offer.
Across the three instruments, the DMO recorded 420 bids, of which 267 were successful.
On allotments, the DMO issued N78.36 billion for the February 2034 bond, N781.31 billion for the September 2036 bond, and N350.72 billion for the June 2038 bond. The September 2036 paper therefore accounted for the largest share of market allotments. Non-competitive allotments of N400 billion each were recorded for the February 2034 and September 2036 bonds, while no non-competitive allotment was made for the June 2038 instrument.
Marginal rates came in at 16.99% for the February 2034 bond, 17.29% for the September 2036 bond, and 17.19% for the June 2038 bond. The DMO noted that original coupon rates remained unchanged at 19.00% for the February 2034 instrument, 16.79% for the September 2036 bond, and 15.45% for the June 2038 bond.
Because the three papers were reopened securities, the government sold additional amounts of existing bonds rather than introducing new instruments.
The pricing reflected a lower interest rate environment after the Central Bank of Nigeria's Monetary Policy Committee reduced the benchmark rate by 350 basis points to 23% on September 22. In the prior month, the DMO had offered N1 trillion, comprising a new 10-year bond and a reopening of the June 2038 paper, while in August the agency allotted N1.56 trillion against demand of N1.73 trillion.
