The Federal Government’s May 2026 bond auction attracted total demand of ₦796.17 billion, with investors showing a stronger appetite for longer-term debt instruments, according to results released by the Debt Management Office (DMO).
The auction, conducted on May 18, featured the re-opening of two existing Federal Government bonds with a combined offer size of ₦600 billion.
The DMO offered ₦300 billion each for the 22.60 per cent FGN JAN 2035 bond and the 16.2499 per cent FGN APR 2037 bond.
In a statement, the DMO said the auction recorded a total demand of N796.17 billion.
“The Debt Management Office at its Bond Auction of May 18, 2026, recorded a total demand of N796.17 billion. The Auction featured two instruments, a 22.60% FGN JAN 2035 and 16.2499% FGN APR 2037, with a total offer size of N600.00 billion.
“Subscriptions received from the market were N516.17 billion for the two instruments and a Non-Competitive Bid of N280.00 billion.
“The outcome of the Auction highlights the continued role of the domestic bond market in supporting the Federal Government’s financing needs,” DMO stated.
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Pinnacle Daily analysis of the results shows that the 20-year FGN APR 2037 bond emerged as the stronger performer, boosted by a sizeable ₦280 billion non-competitive bid.
Although the bond recorded a market subscription of ₦253.94 billion from 135 bids, the additional non-competitive demand pushed total subscription far above its ₦300 billion offer.
By comparison, the 10-year FGN JAN 2035 bond received 130 bids and a market subscription of ₦262.23 billion, slightly below its ₦300 billion offer.
The DMO allotted a total of ₦614.51 billion across the two instruments, marginally exceeding the amount offered.
However, allotments varied sharply between the two bonds.
For the JAN 2035 instrument, only ₦137.67 billion was allotted from 79 successful bids despite subscriptions of ₦262.23 billion, indicating a more selective approach by the debt office.
The APR 2037 bond received a much larger allotment of ₦476.84 billion from 96 successful bids, reflecting strong demand for the longer-tenor instrument.
Pricing patterns differed across both bonds, though final marginal rates remained closely aligned.
Investor bids for the 10-year bond ranged from 15.0000 per cent to 22.6000 per cent, while the 20-year bond recorded a narrower bid range of 14.0000 per cent to 18.4900 per cent.
Successful bids for the JAN 2035 bond were allotted at a marginal rate of 17.0000 per cent, while the APR 2037 bond cleared at 17.0400 per cent.
The DMO said the original coupon rates would remain unchanged at 22.60 per cent for the 2035 bond and 16.2499 per cent for the 2037 bond.
The outcome of the auction underscores continued investor interest in Federal Government debt securities as authorities lean on the domestic bond market to meet financing needs.
Alex is a business journalist cum data enthusiast with the Pinnacle Daily. He can be reached via ealex@thepinnacleng.com, @ehime_alex on X