In April 2026, Nigeria’s bond market opened with a clear funding target of ₦700 billion.
The Federal Government launched its bond auction and attracted stronger-than-expected demand of ₦948 billion.
Strong Bond Demand Surpasses Offer Size
The Debt Management Office confirmed settlement for April 29, 2026.
The auction featured three bonds: August 2030, June 2032, and January 2035 re-openings.
Investors actively participated and prioritised longer-dated securities to secure higher returns.
The 10-year 2035 bond led demand, drawing ₦599.02 billion against an offer of ₦300 billion.
Similarly, the 7-year 2032 bond attracted ₦167.04 billion against ₦100 billion offered.
However, the 5-year 2030 bond recorded ₦181.94 billion, falling short of its ₦300 billion offer.
Overall, investors submitted 339 bids across the three instruments.
As a result, demand concentrated at the long end of the yield curve.
Meanwhile, shorter tenors attracted weaker interest, especially the 5-year bond.
Investor Preference Shifts To Long-Term Bonds
In addition, bid rates ranged widely from 15.00% to 22.60%.
Consequently, investors reflected differing expectations on inflation and interest rates.
Furthermore, they adjusted strategies based on monetary policy outlooks.
Read Also: DMO Targets ₦700 Billion At April 27 FGN Bond Auction
The Debt Management Office enforced tighter pricing discipline across all maturities.
Therefore, final stop rates cleared at 16.30% for the 2030 bond, 16.50% for the 2032 bond, and 16.59% for the 2035 bond.
These rates stayed well below the highest bids submitted during the auction.
Government Deepens Domestic Borrowing Strategy
Overall, the government continued to rely heavily on domestic borrowing for fiscal funding.
At the same time, external financing constraints pushed this domestic focus further.
In turn, the strategy helped deepen Nigeria’s sovereign yield curve.
Earlier, in March 2026, the government reduced allotments to ₦485.50 billion.
Even then, investors still showed strong but more selective demand.
Finally, the latest auction confirmed strong liquidity and sharper price sensitivity among investors.
