The Debt Management Office (DMO) has rejected approximately N1.84 trillion in investor bids at Nigeria’s latest Treasury bills auction, despite receiving subscriptions worth more than twice the amount offered.
The auction, conducted on October 28, 2026, through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), attracted total bids of N1.908 trillion against an advertised offer of N800 billion.
However, the authorities allotted only N71.16 billion, leaving approximately N1.837 trillion in investor subscriptions unfilled.
The outcome means investors secured less than nine per cent of the amount offered at the auction.
The latest Treasury bills auction also marked the second consecutive exercise in which the DMO rejected most investor subscriptions.
At the October 14 auction, the debt office turned down about 74 per cent of bids while increasing the one-year stop rate to 15.90 per cent.
One-Year Treasury Bills Attract N1.84tn in Bids
The 364-day Treasury bill recorded the strongest investor interest, attracting subscriptions of approximately N1.84 trillion against an offer of N600 billion.
Despite the overwhelming demand, the authorities allotted only N38.38 billion, leaving about N1.798 trillion in bids unfilled.
Investors submitted offers at interest rates ranging from 15.00 per cent to 18.24 per cent.
However, the DMO settled the one-year stop rate at 15.80 per cent. This represented a 10-basis-point reduction from the 15.90 per cent recorded at the previous auction.
DMO Allots N22.33bn on 91-Day Bills
The 91-day Treasury bill attracted subscriptions of N51.56 billion against an advertised offer of N100 billion.
The authorities allotted N22.33 billion at a stop rate of 15.40 per cent.
The 182-day instrument received bids worth N20.27 billion, while the DMO accepted N10.45 billion at a stop rate of 15.79 per cent.
Combined, the three instruments attracted N1.908 trillion in subscriptions, but the authorities accepted only N71.16 billion.
For comparison, the October 7 auction recorded a different outcome. The DMO allotted N968.47 billion against an advertised offer of N900 billion, while the one-year stop rate stood at 15.85 per cent.
Banking System Liquidity Rises to N8.59tn
Meanwhile, liquidity in Nigeria’s banking system increased ahead of the October 28 auction.
Available liquidity rose to N8.59 trillion from N6.94 trillion recorded on October 23.
The increase received significant support from N2.13 trillion in matured Open Market Operations (OMO) instruments.
Despite the liquidity improvement, the latest Treasury bills auction recorded a sharp difference between investor demand and the amount accepted by the authorities.
In the secondary market, the average Treasury bills yield also declined to 17.47 per cent on October 27 from 18.21 per cent recorded on October 14.
The latest figures show that investor demand remained strong, particularly for longer-dated government securities, even as the DMO maintained a much lower level of allotment.