The Central Bank of Nigeria sold approximately ₦17.51 trillion in Open Market Operations bills in September 2026, while about ₦10.89 trillion in maturing bills was repaid over the same period, leaving a net liquidity withdrawal of roughly ₦6.62 trillion.

An analysis of CBN auction and repayment data shows that the gross sales came from five OMO auctions held on September 1, 8, 16, 24 and 29.

The ₦17.51 trillion allotted was about 2.7 times the cumulative ₦6.4 trillion initially offered. However, large repayments during the month meant that a significant portion of the liquidity absorbed through new sales had first been returned to the financial system through maturing OMO bills.

Five OMO maturities worth approximately ₦10.89 trillion were recorded during September, equivalent to roughly 62 per cent of the ₦17.51 trillion in gross sales.

This left the CBN with net liquidity absorption of about ₦6.62 trillion, or 38 per cent of the total amount sold.

The CBN repaid ₦62 billion on September 7, followed by ₦3.07 trillion on September 8.

Another ₦3.06 trillion matured on September 15, while ₦2.27 trillion was repaid on September 22.

The final major maturity came on September 29, when ₦2.433 trillion was returned to the financial system.

Against these repayments, the CBN recorded OMO sales of ₦2.88 trillion, ₦4.40 trillion, ₦3.29 trillion, ₦2.255 trillion and ₦4.686 trillion across the five September auctions.

The figures indicate that much of September’s OMO activity involved replacing maturing securities with fresh instruments, rather than the entire ₦17.51 trillion representing additional liquidity withdrawal.

The scale of net absorption varied considerably across the month, with the largest withdrawals occurring around the first and final auctions. In between, fresh sales were more closely matched with maturing OMO repayments.

The September 1 auction and the September 7 maturity produced net absorption of about ₦2.82 trillion, based on ₦2.88 trillion in sales against ₦62 billion repaid.

On September 8, ₦4.40 trillion was sold against ₦3.07 trillion repaid, leaving a net withdrawal of about ₦1.33 trillion.

Around September 15 and 16, reported sales of ₦3.29 trillion exceeded the ₦3.06 trillion repayment by about ₦236 billion, while the September 22 and 24 transactions resulted in a marginal net injection of roughly ₦15 billion.

On September 29, ₦4.686 trillion in OMO sales exceeded the ₦2.433 trillion same-day maturity by about ₦2.25 trillion, making the final auction another major net liquidity withdrawal.

However, the CBN data for September 16 contains an inconsistency. The reported ₦3.292 trillion successful allotment exceeds total subscriptions of ₦3.034 trillion, driven by a 69-day entry showing ₦861.85 billion allotted against ₦408.52 billion subscribed.

If that allotment were capped at subscriptions, gross September sales would be about ₦17.06 trillion and net absorption roughly ₦6.17 trillion. The ₦17.51 trillion figure reflects the CBN data as reported.

Investor demand remained strong even as OMO rates declined during September. Stop rates on longer-tenor instruments fell by about 170 basis points, from 18.99 per cent on September 1 to 17.29 per cent as of September 24.

The September 29 auction extended the maturity profile further, introducing a 266-day instrument that matures in 2027.

The 266-day bill cleared at 16.23 per cent and attracted ₦4.543 trillion in subscriptions against ₦1 trillion offered, representing demand of 4.54 times the offer.

The CBN allotted ₦2.996 trillion on the 266-day instrument, while the 182-day and 147-day bills cleared at 16.94 per cent and 17.24 per cent, respectively.

Total subscriptions across September’s five auctions reached about ₦27 trillion, compared with ₦18.72 trillion in August.

The CBN still recorded more than ₦6.2 trillion at the Standing Deposit Facility as of September 29, indicating that substantial liquidity remained within the banking system.

The September figures therefore show the CBN simultaneously recycling large OMO maturities and withdrawing additional liquidity, while the shift towards longer-dated instruments pushes some repayments into 2027 and reduces the amount returning to the banking system in the near term.