The Federal Government allotted ₦7.15 trillion in FGN bonds between January and September 2026, representing a 106% increase from the ₦3.48 trillion allotted during the same period in 2025.
Nairametrics’ analysis of the Debt Management Office’s monthly auction results showed that the increase was driven by significantly higher allotments in several months, particularly January, June, July and August. Despite lower allotments in February and April, the total for the first nine months more than doubled year-on-year.
The strongest monthly increase was recorded in June, when the DMO allotted ₦1.22 trillion in FGN bonds, compared with ₦100 billion in June 2025. January allotments rose to ₦1.54 trillion from ₦601.04 billion, an increase of 157%. July allotments climbed to ₦931.82 billion from ₦185.93 billion, representing a 401% increase. August allotments increased to ₦805.16 billion from ₦136.16 billion, up 491%. September allotments rose 29.8% to ₦748.64 billion from ₦576.62 billion.
Kanyi Daily reports that the increases more than offset declines recorded in February and April, when allotments fell 42.4% and 30.4%, respectively, from their 2025 levels. Demand for FGN bonds also remained substantial during the period, with total subscriptions reaching ₦13.72 trillion between January and September 2026.
January recorded subscriptions of ₦2.25 trillion, accounting for 16.4% of the nine-month total, while February followed with ₦2.70 trillion, representing 19.7%. March subscriptions stood at ₦1.50 trillion, or 10.9% of the total. June attracted ₦1.41 trillion, representing 10.3%. July recorded ₦1.70 trillion, accounting for 12.4%. August and September recorded ₦1.35 trillion and ₦1.36 trillion, respectively. The difference between total subscriptions and allotments indicates that demand at the auctions was higher than the amount ultimately allotted to investors during the period.
Nigeria’s total public debt stock stood at ₦166.79 trillion as of June 30, 2026, up from ₦159.35 trillion at the end of March. Domestic debt accounted for ₦91.59 trillion, or 54.91% of the total portfolio. FGN bonds remained the largest component of Federal Government domestic debt, with an outstanding value of ₦64.84 trillion, representing 74.53% of FGN domestic debt.
Other instruments included FGN Sukuk at ₦1.19 trillion, savings bonds at ₦122.45 billion and green bonds at ₦47.36 billion. Promissory notes stood at ₦1.22 trillion. The continued dominance of FGN bonds in the domestic debt portfolio underscores their role as a major financing instrument for the Federal Government as bond allotments increased sharply during the first nine months of 2026.
The increase comes as the Federal Government continues to rely heavily on domestic debt instruments, with FGN bonds remaining the largest component of its domestic debt portfolio. According to the DMO data, total public debt stood at ₦87.38 trillion as of June 30, 2023, shortly after Tinubu assumed office.
