The Central Bank of Nigeria absorbed the foreign-currency equivalent of $772 million in liquidity following the repayment of Open Market Operation (OMO) securities, officials said on June 5, 2026. The move reflected a net withdrawal of naira from the financial system through OMO transactions aimed at managing currency stability and inflationary pressures.
The liquidity absorption followed a series of Open Market Operation (OMO) transactions conducted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the weeks leading up to June 5, 2026. According to Nairametrics, on that date alone, the CBN withdrew N3.04 trillion (approximately $772 million at prevailing exchange rates) from the financial system through OMO auctions, with bids totaling N3.275 trillion against an offer of N600 billion. This was part of what Nairametrics described as a “continued aggressive liquidity sterilisation strategy” amid efforts to manage inflation and stabilize the naira.
On June 5, 2026 alone, the CBN withdrew N3.04 trillion (approximately $772 million) from the financial system through OMO auctions, with bids totaling N3.275 trillion against an offer of N600 billion.
This recent mop-up came on the heels of two other significant OMO auctions in late May. On May 21, 2026, the CBN absorbed N3.692 trillion through two instruments after receiving bids six times the combined N600 billion offered. Then, on May 29, the central bank withdrew N1.945 trillion in a pure liquidity absorption exercise, with bids of N1.952 trillion against an offer of N400 billion, according to Nairametrics and DMarketForces. Collectively, these auctions removed more than N8.46 trillion in gross liquidity over a span of about two weeks.
CBN financial data reviewed by Nairametrics and BusinessDay show that while OMO sales surged to N18.79 trillion in the first quarter of 2026, OMO repayments also rose sharply to N16.98 trillion in the same period, nearly ten times the volume seen in the first quarter of 2025. This dynamic results in a net OMO sales figure of about N1.81 trillion for Q1 2026, illustrating that repayments of maturing OMO securities inject significant liquidity back into the system, which the CBN then partially offsets with new OMO sales.
BusinessDay’s analysis of 2024 data shows a similar trend, with OMO sales increasing 18-fold to N11.8 trillion from N627.2 billion in 2023, alongside a rise in OMO repayments to N977.7 billion. Early 2025 figures indicate year-to-date repayments of N744.8 billion, underscoring a structural shift toward using OMO as a routine monetary policy tool. Julius Alagbe, a market analyst cited on LinkedIn, noted that in the first week of February 2026, the CBN injected more than N1.7 trillion into the banking system through cumulative OMO and primary market repayments, which the central bank then sought to neutralize with fresh OMO issuances.
DMarketForces reported that on one occasion, the CBN allotted N1.27 trillion in OMO bills against offers totaling N600 billion, receiving bids of N1.34 trillion. The stop rates were 19.35% and 19.41% for the 168- and 210-day tenor buckets, respectively. This auction followed a week in which ₦594 billion in OMO repayments significantly increased system liquidity, contributing to a ₦5.15 trillion surplus balance before the central bank responded with new OMO sales to reabsorb funds.
Arise News quoted the CBN as saying it “successfully concluded” an OMO sale of N1.053 trillion (about $680 million) in government securities, noting that 79% of total bids came from foreign investors. The report framed the auction as part of ongoing liquidity management efforts aimed at maintaining currency stability and controlling inflationary pressures.
The CBN’s official financial data tables list “OMO Sales/Under-Writing by MMDs” and “OMO Repayment” as key daily liquidity operations, alongside facilities such as the Standing Lending Facility, Standing Deposit Facility, repos, reverse repos, and Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) debits and credits. These data, presented in millions of naira, enable analysts to track cumulative and daily changes in system liquidity resulting from coordinated monetary policy actions.
The pattern of OMO-linked liquidity injections and withdrawals in 2026 shows marked volatility. January saw OMO sales of N8.54 trillion versus repayments of N5.63 trillion, while February recorded higher repayments than sales. March closed with a net withdrawal of about N1.97 trillion. This volatility reflects the CBN’s balancing act between tightening monetary conditions and managing liquidity shocks.
The recent $772 million liquidity absorption after OMO repayments fits into this broader context of large maturing OMO tranches injecting liquidity, followed by substantial new OMO sales that produce a net withdrawal in the hundreds of millions of dollars equivalent. Analysts from Nairametrics and BusinessDay agree that these operations reflect a more aggressive intervention in the money market, signaling the central bank’s prioritization of inflation control and naira stability over short-term liquidity comfort.
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