By Elizabeth Adegbesan 

As part of the Federal Government (FG) borrowing plan for the 2026 budget, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has issued Treasury Bills, TBs, to raise N5.8 trillion in the third quarter of 2026 (Q3’26).

This represents a 241 percent year-on-year (YoY) increase when compared to N1.76 trillion sold in Q3’25.

CBN disclosed this in its Nigeria Treasury Bills Issue programme for Q3’26.

Treasury Bills are short term (less than one year) debt instruments used by the apex bank to borrow money from the Nigerian public on behalf of the federal government.  CBN also uses TBs to control money supply in the economy.

The TB issue programme commenced on July 1st, and ends on September 23rd, 2026. The settlement date began yesterday and ends on September 24th, 2026.

During the period, the apex bank will issue TBs worth N900 billion on 91 days tenor, N900 billion on 182 days and N4 trillion on 364 days.

A breakdown of the programme revealed that in July, the apex bank plans to issue N2 trillion worth of TBs, comprising N300 billion worth of 91 days bills, N300 billion worth of 182 days bills and N1.4 trillion worth of 364 bills.

In August, the apex bank issued N2.1 trillion worth of TBs, comprising N300 billion worth of 91 days bills, N300 billion worth of 182 days bills, and N1.5 trillion worth of 364 days bills.

In September, CBN plans to sell N1.7 trillion worth of TBs comprising N300 billion worth of 91 days bills, N300 billion worth of 182 days bills and N1.1 trillion worth of 384 days bills.

By Emma Ujah

President and Chairman of the Board of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Dr. George Elombi, has tasked African nations to stop the export of Lithium, the main raw material used in the production of electric vehicle (EV) batteries. Nigeria is a major exporter of Lithium in Africa, though most of the quantity is illegally exported.

Speaking at the bank’s Mid-Year Media Roundtable in Abuja on Wednesday, he said that rather than exporting raw lithium, African countries should use it to manufacture EV batteries on the continent.

He also said Afreximbank has sufficient funds to finance the production of EV batteries and is ready to provide the necessary funding to any individual or organisation willing to venture into the industry.

In his words, “African mineral resources must work for Africa’s development. EVs are the future of transportation, and the use of lithium to produce EV batteries is taking centre stage in the EV industry.

“Africa must take its position in the EV industry. We have lithium. We should produce EV batteries at home. We simply have to produce them here. There is enough money in Africa to manufacture batteries in Africa.

“If you know anyone who is interested in EV battery production, bring them to me. But if you see someone looking for funding to export lithium, don’t bring them to me.”

Dr. Elombi also said African leaders and institutions must work together to ensure that African funds held outside the continent are repatriated to support the region’s development.

Some rating agencies biased against Africa

Speaking on the bank’s credit ratings, Dr. Elombi, who advocated for African rating agencies, said some global rating agencies initially dismissed Afreximbank as too small and insignificant to drive Africa’s development, while questioning the bank’s trade finance mandate.

According to him, one agency’s 2014 assessment suggested that trade finance could not serve as a foundation for development and implied that the bank’s core mandate lacked relevance.