Nigeria’s Debt Management Office (DMO) is preparing for one of its largest bond sales of the quarter as it launches a major reopening of two benchmark Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) bonds on Monday, November 24, 2025. The auction, which aims to raise between N400 billion and N500 billion, represents a significant scale-up from earlier borrowing projections and underscores the Federal Government’s deepening reliance on domestic markets to finance its fiscal programme.
The move was confirmed in the revised Q4 2025 FGN Bond Issuance Calendar released on November 18. The DMO will reopen the 17.945% FGN AUG 2030 and 17.95% FGN JUN 2032 bonds—two key instruments in the intermediate section of Nigeria’s sovereign yield curve. Each tranche will now be offered at N200 billion to N250 billion, far higher than the original N120 billion to N150 billion range announced earlier in the quarter.
These bonds currently have remaining maturities of 4 years, 9 months (2030) and 6 years, 7 months (2032), and remain among the most actively watched sovereign instruments due to their depth, liquidity, and influence on pricing across the domestic debt market.
Liquidity Boost Expected from Maturing OMO Bills
The expanded issuance comes at a time when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is set to repay multiple maturing Open Market Operation (OMO) bills, including a N32 billion 56-day bill issued on November 7. These repayments will inject additional liquidity into the financial system, giving institutional investors—including banks, pension fund administrators (PFAs), and asset managers—more room to participate aggressively in the upcoming bond sale.
The liquidity boost is expected to support a strong auction performance, especially as investors continue to favour high-yielding risk-free instruments under Nigeria’s elevated interest-rate environment.
Revised Q4 Borrowing Calendar Signals Stronger Domestic Strategy
The updated Q4 borrowing plan shows that the Federal Government intends to raise between N440 billion and N650 billion through three bond auction windows. The first auction—held on October 27—raised between N240 billion and N300 billion. The final auction for the year, slated for December 15, will mirror the November offer size, reopening both the 2030 and 2032 bonds again at N400 billion to N500 billion.
By mid-December, the reopened bonds would have marginally shorter maturities—roughly 4 years, 8 months for the 2030 paper and 6 years for the 2032 series. However, the DMO stressed that its calendar remains provisional and could be revised should market conditions or government financing needs shift.
Analysts note that the DMO’s decision to focus on reopening existing bonds rather than issuing new maturities is intentional. This approach avoids market fragmentation, enhances liquidity, improves price discovery, and aligns with global best practices for building deep and efficient secondary markets.
Strong Demand Expected as Yields Remain Attractive
With coupon rates near 18%, investor appetite for sovereign bonds remains robust. Many institutional investors continue to rebalance their portfolios toward high-yield government securities, especially ahead of year-end asset allocation cycles.
Meanwhile, the CBN will repay a total of N332.45 billion in OMO maturities between December 2 and December 30, including:
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N450 million due December 2 (361-day bill)
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About N300 billion due December 30 (56-day bill issued November 4)
These inflows are expected to reinforce demand for the November 24 bond auction and subsequent issuances.
Overall, analysts expect market conditions to remain stable through the year’s end, supported by elevated yields, strong liquidity, and the Federal Government’s continued preference for domestic debt to meet its 2025 financing commitments.
Emmanuel Bassey is a Financial Expert that has worked in the Banking and Finance Industry for over 15+ years across different banks in Nigeria
