According to the auction notice obtained by Nairametrics, the DMO will offer N100 billion each in 91-day and 182-day bills, and N700 billion in 364-day bills, with settlement scheduled for Thursday, October 8.
The apex bank stated that the indicative NTB issuance calendar will be released in due course.
The quarterly programme outlines, among other details, how much the government plans to offer and how much of the old bills are expected to mature during the quarter, auction and maturity dates.
The auction is the first NTB sale of the fourth quarter 2026 and comes as the one-year stop rate sits at 15.89% at previous auctions, following a sustained decline in rates and the Monetary Policy Committee’s 350-basis-point reduction in the Monetary Policy Rate to 23.00%.
The 364-day bill accounts for N700 billion, or approximately 77.8%, of the total amount being offered at the October 7 auction. The shorter 91-day and 182-day instruments each account for N100 billion, representing about 11.1% apiece.
The structure maintains the DMO’s recent emphasis on the longer-dated Treasury bill, which has also attracted the bulk of investor demand at recent auctions.
The auction notice did not state the stop rates, bid limits or submission deadline, leaving the eventual pricing to emerge from the auction results.
The October auction comes after strong demand for the 364-day instrument at the September 23 auction, when total subscriptions across the three tenors reached N4.23 trillion. The DMO eventually allotted N497.59 billion, with demand heavily concentrated at the long end.
The one-year stop rate has also declined steadily across recent auctions.
The DMO allotted approximately N8.14 trillion across eight NTB auctions during the third quarter, about 40.34% above the N5.8 trillion targeted for the period.
Liquidity conditions remain supportive of fixed-income demand entering the October 7 auction. Investors submitted N12.14 trillion in bids at the final two September OMO auctions against N3.4 trillion offered, even as rates on the instruments declined.
The auction results are expected to show whether the recent decline in stop rates continues into the fourth quarter.
Investors can access NTBs through banks and licensed investment platforms subject to their respective minimum bid requirements, while attention at the October 7 auction will centre on demand for the N700 billion one-year offer and whether its 15.89% stop rate declines further.
