The Federal Government plans to borrow up to N5.75 trillion from the domestic bond market before the end of 2026, according to the Debt Management Office’s provisional issuance calendar for the fourth quarter. The plan follows a nine-month period in which bond allotments more than doubled. If fully raised, the new offers would equal about 80 per cent of everything the government borrowed through FGN bonds between January and September.
The DMO has scheduled three auctions, on October 19, November 16 and December 14. The October sale will offer N1.75 trillion, while the November and December auctions will offer N2 trillion each. The last two auctions therefore account for N4 trillion, or about 69.6 per cent of the quarter’s planned issuance.
Three long-dated instruments will carry the programme. The 19 per cent FGN February 2034 bond will take N1.5 trillion, with N500 billion offered at each auction. The September 2036 bond, first introduced as a new issue in the third quarter, has the largest allocation at N2.8 trillion, while the 15.45 per cent FGN June 2038 bond will take the remaining N1.45 trillion.
The scale of the plan stands out against the third quarter. The DMO revised its July to September calendar in July, cutting planned issuance to between N3.4 trillion and N4.6 trillion from an original range of N4.2 trillion to N5.1 trillion. The fourth quarter offer of N5.75 trillion is above the top of both ranges.
Data from the debt office show how sharply bond borrowing has risen this year. The government allotted N7.15 trillion in FGN bonds between January and September 2026, up 106 per cent from N3.48 trillion in the same period of 2025. January allotments rose 157 per cent to N1.54 trillion, while June climbed to N1.22 trillion from just N100 billion a year earlier.
The middle of the year saw the steepest growth. July allotments came to about N930 billion, roughly five times the N185.93 billion recorded in July 2025. August rose 491 per cent to N805.16 billion, while September grew a more modest 29.8 per cent to N748.64 billion.
Not every month moved upward. Allotments fell 42.4 per cent in February and 30.4 per cent in April compared with the same months in 2025. Those declines were more than offset by the surge elsewhere in the year.
Investor appetite has supported the programme, but at a price. At the July 20 auction, investors submitted 556 bids worth N1.74 trillion against N1.2 trillion on offer, and the DMO allotted N929.32 billion. Marginal rates on the 2035 and 2037 bonds settled at about 18.3 per cent, a level that reflects the Central Bank of Nigeria’s tight policy stance, with the monetary policy rate held at 26.5 per cent in July.
The new borrowing will land on an already heavy debt stock. DMO figures put Nigeria’s total public debt at N166.79 trillion as of June 30, 2026, up N7.44 trillion or 4.67 per cent from N159.35 trillion at the end of March. Year on year, the stock rose by N14.39 trillion, or about 9.4 per cent, from N152.40 trillion in June 2025.
Domestic debt accounted for N91.59 trillion, or 54.91 per cent of the total, while external debt stood at N75.20 trillion. The Federal Government owed N152.77 trillion of the total, with the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory owing N14.01 trillion. In dollar terms, total public debt was $120.93 billion.
FGN bonds are the backbone of domestic borrowing. According to the DMO, outstanding bonds stood at N64.84 trillion as of June, representing 74.53 per cent of the Federal Government’s N87 trillion domestic debt. Treasury bills made up a further N19.48 trillion.
The longer trend is equally significant. Total public debt stood at N87.38 trillion on June 30, 2023, shortly after President Bola Tinubu took office, meaning the naira value of the stock has risen by about 91 per cent in three years. Part of that increase reflects the revaluation of foreign loans after the naira’s depreciation, as external debt in dollar terms rose more slowly, from $42.49 billion in December 2023 to $51.86 billion in December 2025.
Allotment figures alone do not show how much of the borrowing is fresh financing and how much is used to refinance maturing obligations. The DMO has also stressed that its calendar is provisional, and the final amount raised will depend on demand at each auction. What is certain is that bonds maturing in 2034, 2036 and 2038 will push repayment obligations well into the next decade, alongside the interest costs that come with them.