The Central Bank of Nigeria sold about N17.51 trillion worth of Open Market Operations bills in September 2026, while N10.89 trillion in matured bills was repaid, resulting in a net liquidity withdrawal of approximately N6.62 trillion.
The sales were conducted through five auctions held on September 1, 8, 16, 24 and 29. The amount allotted was nearly three times the N6.4 trillion initially offered across the auctions.
However, the heavy maturities during the month offset about 62 per cent of the gross sales, meaning a significant portion of the funds raised through fresh OMO bills replaced securities that had matured.
The CBN repaid N62 billion on September 7, N3.07 trillion on September 8, N3.06 trillion on September 15, N2.27 trillion on September 22 and N2.43 trillion on September 29.
Against these maturities, the bank sold N2.88 trillion, N4.40 trillion, N3.29 trillion, N2.26 trillion and N4.69 trillion across the five auctions.
The largest net withdrawals occurred around the opening and closing auctions, with the September 1 sale generating about N2.82 trillion in net absorption and the September 29 transaction removing roughly N2.25 trillion after accounting for maturities.
The September 8 auction produced another N1.33 trillion net withdrawal, while activity around September 15 and 16 resulted in about N236 billion in net absorption.
However, transactions around September 22 and 24 produced a marginal net injection of approximately N15 billion.
Data from the September 16 auction contains an inconsistency, as reported successful allotments of N3.292 trillion exceeded subscriptions of N3.034 trillion. If allotments were capped at the subscribed amount, gross sales would fall to about N17.06 trillion, with net absorption at approximately N6.17 trillion.
Investor appetite remained strong despite declining OMO rates, with subscriptions across the five auctions reaching about N27 trillion, compared with N18.72 trillion in August.
The September 29 auction also introduced a 266-day instrument maturing in 2027. It attracted N4.54 trillion in subscriptions against N1 trillion offered and cleared at 16.23 per cent, while the 182-day and 147-day bills cleared at 16.94 per cent and 17.24 per cent respectively.
The figures show the CBN combining the refinancing of maturing securities with additional liquidity withdrawal, while longer-tenor instruments are pushing some repayments into 2027.
