By Cynthia Ezekwe
The Central Bank of Nigeria has disclosed its plan to raise N1.13 trillion in treasury bills for the second quarter of 2023, a significant increase from N926 billion raised in Q2 2022.
The apex bank disclosed the information of the latest Nigerian Treasury Bill Issue Programme for the Second Quarter 2023 on its website.
According to the programme document, the issuance is for March to May 2023, and the bills are divided into three tenors of 91-days, 182-days, and 364-days with a plan to raise N23.67 billion, N34.7 billion and N1.08 trillion respectively, the bills are also a roll-over of maturing bills for the corresponding period.
A breakdown shows that the CBN plans to raise N531.74 billion worth of treasury bills, comprising N4.28 billion worth of 91 days bills, N14.8 billion worth of 182 days bills, and N512.66 billion worth of 364 days bills in March.
In the month of May, the apex bank plans to raise N324.36 billion worth of treasury bills comprising N14.48 billion worth of 91 days bills, N7.2 billion worth of 182 bills and N302.68 billion worth of 364 days bills.
The apex raised a total of N540.9 billion treasury bills from January and February combined, which is higher than N342.6 billion raised in the corresponding period of 2022.
However, Nigeria’s treasury bills rates have risen over the last few weeks with the 91 days treasury bills going for three per cent, 182 days at 3.24 per cent and 9.9 per cent for the one year bill.
Treasury bills (T-bills) are short-term debt instruments issued by the Nigerian government through the CBN to raise funds to finance government budget deficits. T-bills are one of the investment options available to investors in Nigeria, and are considered to be low-risk investment instruments.
The central bank also relies on treasury bills to mop up liquidity in the country, as it continues to deal with inflation.
Data from the apex bank disclosed that the government issued a total treasury bill amount of N3.9 trillion in 2022.
