The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is set to raise a total of N825 billion from the domestic debt market in the final round of sovereign issuances for 2025, underscoring the Federal Government’s continued reliance on local funding amid elevated yields.
The planned raise is split between N460 billion in Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) bonds and N365 billion in Treasury Bills (T-bills).
However, the CBN stated in its issuance notice that it reserves the right to vary the amount on offer in line with prevailing market realities, a flexibility that could influence final allotments.
Bond auction: N460 billion on offer
The CBN, on behalf of the Debt Management Office (DMO), will offer N460 billion equally split across two long-dated papers comprising a reopening of the N230 billion 17.945% FGN August 2030 bond and another N230 billion in the 17.95% FGN June 2032 bond.
The auction is scheduled for Monday, December 15, 2025, with settlement two days later on December 17.
At the previous auctions, the August 2030 paper cleared at a stop rate of 15.90%, while the June 2032 bond was cleared at 16.00% stop rate.
Market guidance pegs the expected stop rate at 17.30–17.50% for the 2030 bond and 17.40–17.60% for the 2032 paper, reflecting current trend of rising yields across longer dated tenors.
T-bills sale: N365 billion across three tenors
In addition to the bond auction, the CBN will also conduct a Treasury Bills auction on Thursday, December 18, 2025, targeting N350 billion. The issuance will be spread across the short end of the yield curve, with N100 billion each offered on the 91-day and 182-day tenors, and N165 billion on the 364-day bill.
The auction will be conducted via the Dutch auction system, with bids to be submitted through the CBN’s S4 web interface between 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, December 17, 2025. Each bid must be in multiples of N1,000, subject to a minimum subscription of N50.001 million. Successful bidders will be required to settle their obligations by 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, December 18.
What you should know
- This December latest Bills auctions in which the CBN has mandated the use of its Secure Software for Settlement System (S4) marks the second attempt to activate the use of the electronic interface following ongoing reforms in the management of government securities.
- At the November 20, 2025, auctions, where the CBN raised over N700 billion, the apex bank activated for the first time the mandatory use of its S4 electronic interface for T-bills submissions.
- The policy shift is aimed at tightening control over primary market flows, curbing price distortions, reducing information asymmetry and improving transparency in the auction process.
- However, the apex bank suspended the use of S4 in subsequent issuances until now. Nairametrics gathered from a very reliable source close to CBN that the financial system reform will be concluded by this December, after which the S4 system will be fully operational.
