The Debt Management Office (DMO) auctioned ₦600 billion in reopened Federal Government bonds on Monday, May 18, 2026, offering elevated yields as high as 22.60 percent.
On behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the agency rolled out two previously issued financial instruments carrying coupon rates of 22.60 percent and 16.2499 percent, with settlement scheduled for May 20, 2026.
The investment features semi-annual interest disbursements alongside bullet repayments upon maturity. This positions the sale as a strategic reopening divided evenly across two distinct tenor buckets, a 10-year option and a 20-year option.
Facilitated by a consortium of Primary Dealer Market Makers (PDMMs) including major institutions such as Access Bank, Zenith Bank, and Guaranty Trust Bank, the ₦600 billion auction comprised two equal offers.
It comprises of ₦300 billion of the 22.60% FGN Bond maturing in January 2035 (10-Year Reopening) and ₦300 billion of the 16.2499% FGN Bond maturing in April 2037 (20-Year Reopening).
The bonds are priced at ₦1,000 per unit, requiring a minimum subscription threshold of ₦50.001 million, and are backed entirely by the full faith and credit of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Successful bidders paid a price corresponding to the yield-to-maturity that cleared the specific volume being auctioned, plus any accrued interest on the asset. This design enables the DMO to pool and consolidate liquidity within existing bond lines instead of fragmenting the domestic market with completely new debt instruments.
A notable feature of the auction was the wide spread between the two instruments, 22.60 percent on the 10-year bond compared to 16.2499 percent on the 20-year option.
The transaction marks the latest installment in a consistent sequence of bond reopenings executed by the DMO since December 2025.
It further underscores the federal government’s heavy reliance on established bond lines to structure domestic debt.
Serving as the fifth reopening cycle since late 2025, the ₦600 billion offering retains the 22.60 percent tenor as the DMO’s anchor instrument, confirming its status as the market’s dominant long-dated benchmark in Nigeria’s current high-rate borrowing climate.