The Debt Management Office has announced the results of the Federal Government’s May 2026 bond auction, with total allotments rising to about N614.5 billion across two re-opened instruments.
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According to the auction results released by the DMO, the Federal Government offered two instruments during the auction held on May 18, 2026 — the 22.60% FGN JAN 2035 bond and the 16.2499% FGN APR 2037 bond — with each instrument carrying an initial offer size of N300 billion.
Settlement for both bonds has been scheduled for May 20, 2026.
The auction outcome showed stronger investor interest in the longer-dated APR 2037 bond, which attracted substantial non-competitive bids and accounted for the larger share of total allotments.
What the DMO is saying
The 22.60% FGN JAN 2035 bond recorded total subscriptions of N262.23 billion from 130 investor bids, out of which 79 bids were successful.
- The DMO allotted N137.67 billion on the JAN 2035 bond.
- The instrument has a remaining tenor of 8 years and 8 months.
- Bid rates ranged between 15.00% and 22.60%, while the marginal rate settled at 17.00%.
The DMO confirmed that successful bids for the bond were allotted at the marginal rate of 17.00%, while the original coupon of 22.60% remains unchanged.
More Insights
Investor demand was stronger for the 16.2499% FGN APR 2037 bond, which drew significant participation from institutional investors.
- The instrument received 135 bids, with 96 bids accepted by the DMO.
- Total subscriptions stood at N253.94 billion, alongside N280 billion in non-competitive bids.
- Total allotment on the bond reached N476.84 billion, significantly above the original offer size.
The APR 2037 bond, which has a remaining tenor of 10 years and 11 months, recorded bid rates ranging from 14.00% to 18.49%, while the marginal rate closed at 17.04%.
- Successful bids for both instruments were allotted at marginal rates of 17.00% and 17.04% respectively.
- Despite the allotment rates, the original coupon rates of 22.60% for the JAN 2035 bond and 16.2499% for the APR 2037 bond remain unchanged.
What you should know
This auction marks the latest in a consistent run of bond re-openings that the DMO has conducted since December 2025.
- The January 2026 auction set a peak when total allotments reached N1.54 trillion, well exceeding the N900 billion on offer — driven by strong oversubscription across all three re-opened bonds, including the same 22.60% FGN January 2035 instrument being re-opened today.
- By February 2026, the DMO auctioned N800 billion in three re-openings at yields retreating below 20%, signalling an easing borrowing cost environment compared with the prior month’s peak rates.
- April’s N700 billion auction further re-opened the 22.60% FGN January 2035 bond alongside shorter-dated instruments, maintaining the pattern of tapping existing lines amid elevated but gradually moderating yields.
FGN bond auctions remain one of the Federal Government’s key mechanisms for financing budget deficits and supporting public spending obligations.
- DMO conducts monthly bond auctions to raise long-term domestic financing.
- FGN bonds continue to attract pension funds, banks, asset managers and other institutional investors seeking relatively secure fixed-income assets.
The outcome of the auction comes ahead of key monetary policy decisions by the Central Bank of Nigeria, with investors closely watching interest rate direction and inflation trends.
Nairametrics earlier reported that the DMO actioned N600 billion on Monday May 18, 2026.
