By Kehinde Ibrahim, Lagos
THE Debt Management Office, DMO, will seek to raise up to N1.2 trillion from investors this month through the reopening of three Federal Government of Nigeria ,FGN, bonds, as the Federal Government continues to rely on the domestic debt market to finance budget implementation and manage its borrowing needs.
The planned issuance, scheduled for July 20, 2026, underscores sustained investor confidence in Nigeria’s sovereign debt instruments following strong demand recorded at the June bond auction. Successful subscriptions from the July exercise will be settled on July 22, 2026, according to the DMO’s latest Offer Circular.
The Debt Management Office disclosed that it will offer N400 billion on each of the three bond instruments, bringing the total amount on offer to N1.2 trillion.
The instruments include the 22.60 per cent FGN January 2035 Bond, a 10-year paper being reopened, with an offer size of N400 billion.
The DMO will also reopen the 15.45 per cent FGN June 2038 Bond, a 15-year instrument, valued at N400 billion, alongside the 16.2499 per cent FGN April 2037 Bond, a 20-year paper, also with an offer size of N400 billion.
The July bond issuance follows a similar exercise conducted in June 2026, when the debt office successfully raised N1.22 trillion through the reopening of two FGN bonds despite offering N1.2 trillion, reflecting robust demand from institutional and retail investors.
During the June auction, the DMO reopened the 22.60 per cent FGN January 2035 Bond and the 16.2499 per cent FGN April 2037 Bond, offering N600 billion on each instrument.
Investor interest remained strong, with the auction attracting total subscriptions of N1.41 trillion, exceeding the amount offered.
A breakdown of the results showed that the 22.60 per cent FGN January 2035 Bond, which had a remaining tenor of eight years and seven months, received subscriptions worth N705.22 billion from 179 bids.
Out of the bids received, 135 were successful, with the DMO allotting N600.90 billion to investors. The bond attracted bids ranging from 16.00 per cent to 22.60 per cent, while the marginal rate settled at 18.34 per cent.
The upcoming July auction forms part of the Federal Government’s domestic borrowing programme designed to finance the implementation of the 2026 budget, support fiscal operations and refinance maturing debt obligations through the local capital market.
Analysts say the continued reopening of existing bond instruments reflects the government’s strategy of deepening liquidity in the domestic bond market while reducing refinancing risks associated with new issuances.
The bond offer also provides pension funds, insurance companies, asset managers and other institutional investors with additional opportunities to invest in long-term government securities backed by the full faith and credit of the Federal Government.
With investor appetite for sovereign debt remaining resilient despite evolving macroeconomic conditions, market participants will closely monitor the level of subscription and the marginal rates that emerge from the July auction as indicators of liquidity conditions and investor sentiment in Nigeria’s fixed-income market.
