Nigeria Offers N260 Billion in Bonds for October Sale

The Nigerian government has put up N260 billion worth of bonds for investors to buy during an auction this month, as part of efforts to raise funds and involve more everyday people in the nation’s financial system.

The sale kicked off on Monday, 27 October 2025, and includes two types of bonds: one worth N130 billion maturing in August 2030 with an interest rate of 17.945 per cent, and another N130 billion bond due in June 2032 at 17.95 per cent. These are fresh issues of existing bonds to attract more buyers.

The Debt Management Office, which handles the country’s borrowing, explained that the auction will wrap up with payments due on 29 October. Buyers can purchase in units of N1,000, starting from a minimum of N50,001,000 and adding multiples of N1,000 after that. Interest payments will come twice a year, and the full amount will be repaid when each bond reaches its end date.

This bond programme, started back in 2017, seeks to grow the local market for government loans, help more ordinary savers join in, and offer safe ways for small investors to lend money to the state without big risks.

The office pointed out that these bonds count as trusted investments for groups like pension funds, and they are free from certain taxes under income laws. They are also traded on the Nigerian Exchange and another over-the-counter market, helping banks meet their cash reserve rules.

Backed fully by the government’s promise and the country’s overall wealth, the bonds give buyers peace of mind. The office advised those interested to reach out to major banks acting as sellers, such as Access Bank, First Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Citibank, FCMB, and Standard Chartered.

Last month, the office managed to gather about N3.03 trillion through similar savings bonds in the first eight months of the year. Looking at auction results from January to August, it offered around N2.13 trillion across short, medium, and long-term bonds, but buyers showed strong interest in the longer ones, snapping up nearly N4.94 trillion in total.