Nigeria’s government securities auction allotments declined by 55.86% to N9.501 trillion in October 2026 from N21.527 trillion in September, as demand ratios weakened and monetary authorities left substantial investor bids unallotted.

According to the Financial Markets Dealers Association’s (FMDA) October 2026 market report, the combined figure covers Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs), Open Market Operations (OMO) bills and Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) bonds.

The N12.026 trillion decline was driven mainly by lower OMO issuance, while FGN bonds were the only instrument to record an increase in allotments during the month.

OMO issuance drops 64.69%:

According to FMDA, OMO issuance declined by 64.69% to N6.182 trillion in October from N17.510 trillion in September, accounting for most of the reduction in total auction allotments.

• Treasury Bills allotments also fell by 45.86% to N1.309 trillion from N2.418 trillion, while FGN bond issuance increased by 25.70% to N2.010 trillion from N1.599 trillion.
• Bid-to-cover ratios declined to 2.19 times for NTBs from 5.11 times, while OMO ratios fell to 1.70 times from 3.69 times.
• The FGN bond bid-to-cover ratio moderated to 1.00 times from 1.49 times, indicating that subscriptions were approximately equal to the amount offered.
• At the October 28 NTB auction, the Debt Management Office (DMO) rejected approximately N1.84 trillion in bids and allotted only N71.16 billion against N1.908 trillion in subscriptions.
• The October 28 auction attracted subscriptions equivalent to 2.38 times the N800 billion offer, highlighting the difference between investor demand and actual allotments.
• At the October 14 auction, approximately 74% of bids went unallotted, while the one-year stop rate increased by five basis points to 15.90%.

Secondary-market turnover across the three instruments also declined by 37.19% to N25.754 trillion from N41.002 trillion, with OMO accounting for N16.755 trillion.

Nigerian Bond yields defy global trend:

Nigeria’s 10-year government bond yield increased by 40 basis points to 16.63% in October, contrasting sharply with declines across several international markets.

• The FMDA attributed the domestic movement to softer auction demand rather than a monetary policy adjustment.
• The United States’ 10-year yield declined by 36 basis points to 4.93%, while Japan’s fell by 30 basis points.
• South Africa’s yield declined by 23 basis points, the United Kingdom’s by 14 basis points and China’s by six basis points.
• Kenya recorded a 13-basis-point increase to 12.53%, while Nigeria’s spread over the US 10-year yield stood at approximately 11.70 percentage points.

In Nigeria’s secondary market, average Treasury Bills yields increased by 28 basis points to 18.02%, led by the nine-month instrument, which rose to 18.71%.

Average FGN bond yields increased by 23 basis points to 16.18%, while average OMO yields declined to 18.88% from 19.81%.

At the October 19 FGN bond auction, the DMO allotted approximately N1.2 trillion, compared with N748.64 billion in September. The stop rate on the 16.79% FGN September 2036 bond increased to 17.29% from 16.79%, indicating higher borrowing costs for that instrument.

CBN OMO slowdown boosts liquidity:

The reduction in October’s OMO allotments came after substantial liquidity withdrawals in September when the CBN sold approximately N17.51 trillion in OMO securities.

Those September sales exceeded maturities of N10.89 trillion, resulting in a net withdrawal of approximately N6.62 trillion.

• In October, the CBN allotted N6.182 trillion in OMO securities against N9.051 trillion in maturities, leaving a net repayment difference of approximately N2.87 trillion, according to FMDA
• Banking-system liquidity increased by 56.75% to N7.373 trillion from its September level, according to the FMDA.
• The association reported that foreign portfolio investors held more than $20 billion in Nigerian OMO securities, citing its market sources.
• The CBN’s September 29 auction had raised approximately N4.686 trillion against an offer of N2.5 trillion, illustrating the scale of earlier liquidity absorption.

The moderation in October coincided with substantial unallotted subscriptions at the final OMO and Treasury Bills auctions.

According to the FMDA, maintaining attractive returns for foreign investors holding OMO securities remains an important consideration in the CBN’s interest-rate strategy.

The shift in issuance volumes also highlights the relationship between maturing securities, fresh allotments and available banking-system liquidity.

Naira softens despite $3 billion sales by CBN:

The naira depreciated by 0.87% to N1,338.99 per dollar in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market during October, despite CBN dollar sales exceeding $3 billion, according to FMDA.

• The parallel-market premium narrowed to N40.20 from N64.24, while foreign exchange reserves increased to approximately $55 billion.
• Nigeria’s Eurobond yield declined by 26 basis points to 7.32% as of October 29, while a $105.94 million Eurobond coupon payment falls due in November.
• The FMDA advised banks to increase portfolio duration selectively rather than aggressively pursue higher yields, noting that holders of existing securities faced modest mark-to-market losses.
• The Monetary Policy Rate remained unchanged at 23% after September’s reduction, with another Monetary Policy Committee meeting scheduled for November.

Investors will be monitoring the CBN’s policy stance, exchange-rate developments and oil-price risks linked to the Middle East. The combination of lower securities allotments, rising domestic bond yields and substantial projected inflows makes subsequent auctions important indicators of Nigeria’s fixed-income market direction.