By Abimbola Ogunnaike
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed plans to sell N1.64 trillion worth of Treasury Bills(TB) in the second quarter of 2024.
The apex bank, which made this disclosure in its Nigeria Treasury Bills Issue programme on Friday, 1 March, 2024, said the TB issue programme commences on March 7th and ends on May 23rd, 2024.
In the referenced period, the apex bank will issue TBs worth N414.29 billion on 91 days tenor, N43.74 billion on 182 days and N1.18 trillion on 364 days.
A breakdown of the programme revealed that in March, the apex bank plans to sell N660.62 billion worth of TBs, comprising N32.73 billion worth of 91 days bills, N12.97 billion worth of 182 days bills and N614.92 billion worth of 364 bills.
In April, the apex bank plans to sell N292.17 billion worth of TBs, comprising N10.61 billion worth of 91 days bills, N15.97 billion worth of 182 days bills, and N265.59 billion worth of 364 days bills.
In May, the CBN plans to sell N688.3 billion worth of TBs comprising N362.9 billion worth of 91 days bills, N14.7 billion worth of 182 days bills and N302.67 billion worth of 384 days bills.
Treasury Bills are short-term (less than one year) debt instruments used by the CBN to borrow money from the public on behalf of the federal government.
Recall that Nigeria’s 2024 budget of N28.7 trillion had a N9 trillion deficit.