The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) returned about N10.89tn to the financial system in September 2026 through the repayment of maturing Open Market Operations (OMO) bills, even as it sold fresh securities worth N17.51tn during the month.
The repayments, which represented about 62 per cent of the CBN’s gross OMO sales, partially offset the liquidity-draining effect of the fresh auctions.
Data from the apex bank’s OMO auctions and financial market reports show that the CBN conducted five major OMO auctions on 1, 8, 16, 24 and 29 September, allotting a combined N17.51tnAt the same time, five batches of OMO securities matured, resulting in the repayment of approximately N10.89tn to investors.The difference left the CBN with a net liquidity withdrawal of about N6.62tn for the month.
The figures illustrate how the apex bank has increasingly used OMO operations to manage banking system liquidity by replacing maturing securities with new instruments, rather than relying solely on outright liquidity absorption.The largest liquidity injections came as previously issued OMO bills reached maturity.The CBN repaid N62bn on 7 September, followed by N3.07tn the next day. Another N3.06tn matured on 15 September, while N2.27tn was repaid on 22 September.
Despite the N10.89tn returned to investors, fresh OMO sales were larger, producing a net liquidity withdrawal of approximately N6.62tn.
The 1 September auction resulted in a net withdrawal of about N2.82tn after N2.88tn in new sales was set against N62bn in maturities.