CBN plans to raise N5.8 trillion through Treasury Bills in Q3 2026, a 241% surge from N1.76 trillion in the same period last year, to fund the 2026 budget.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has unveiled plans to raise N5.8 trillion through Treasury Bills (TBs) in the third quarter of 2026, as part of the Federal Government’s borrowing programme to finance the 2026 budget.
The figure represents a 241 percent year-on-year increase compared to the N1.76 trillion sold in Q3 2025, according to the CBN’s Nigeria Treasury Bills Issue Programme for Q3 2026.
Treasury Bills are short-term debt instruments with tenors of less than one year used by the apex bank to borrow money from the Nigerian public on behalf of the federal government. The CBN also uses TBs as a monetary policy tool to control money supply in the economy.
The Q3 2026 programme
The TB issuance programme commenced on July 1 and runs through September 23, 2026, with settlement beginning July 2 and closing September 24, 2026.
Across the quarter, the CBN will issue TBs across three tenor categories: N900 billion on 91-day instruments, N900 billion on 182-day instruments, and N4 trillion on 364-day instruments — with the one-year bills accounting for the bulk of the borrowing programme.
Monthly breakdown
In July, the CBN plans to issue N2 trillion worth of TBs, comprising N300 billion in 91-day bills, N300 billion in 182-day bills and N1.4 trillion in 364-day bills.
In August, the apex bank issued N2.1 trillion worth of TBs, made up of N300 billion in 91-day bills, N300 billion in 182-day bills and N1.5 trillion in 364-day bills.
In September, the CBN plans to sell N1.7 trillion worth of TBs, comprising N300 billion in 91-day bills, N300 billion in 182-day bills and N1.1 trillion in 364-day bills.
The scale of the Q3 2026 TB programme underscores the Federal Government’s heavy reliance on domestic debt markets to fund the 2026 budget. The 241 percent surge over the same quarter in 2025 reflects both the widening fiscal deficit and the government’s preference for short-term domestic borrowing over longer-term external instruments in the current environment.
The concentration of issuance in the 364-day tenor, N4 trillion out of a total N5.8 trillion, suggests the government is seeking to lock in borrowing at the longer end of the short-term curve, reducing rollover frequency while keeping instruments within the less-than-one-year classification that defines Treasury Bills.
The programme’s size will also have implications for liquidity in the banking system, as large TB issuances typically mop up excess cash from commercial banks and can exert upward pressure on interest rates if demand does not keep pace with supply.
