The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has officially confirmed the full operational deployment of its Scripless Securities Settlement System (S4) as the exclusive platform for primary market auctions of government securities. The move makes S4 the central hub for bid submission, price discovery, and allocation, marking a decisive step in modernizing Nigeria’s sovereign debt market. The confirmation follows the February 2026 Treasury Bills auction, where the government offered a total of N1.15 trillion across 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day bills through a fully electronic process.
Market participants describe the transition as a structural reset of the primary debt market. By eliminating physical submissions and decentralised aggregation channels, the CBN has centralized all primary market activities in a single electronic window. Banks and authorised investors now submit bids exclusively through S4, ensuring allocation, confirmation, and settlement are processed within a unified system. Analysts say this centralization reduces information asymmetry and strengthens transparency in government securities auctions.
CBN officials clarified that S4 will continue as the mandatory gateway for all primary market activity, with only authorised banks transmitting customer bids. “S4 has become the only tool used by CBN for government securities auctions in the primary market. It is fully working now,” said Mr. Auwalu of CBN’s Corporate Communications Department. The apex bank is now preparing for the system’s eventual deployment in the secondary market, signaling a broader plan to modernize and digitize Nigeria’s fixed-income ecosystem.
Experts note that the reform significantly shifts the role of Primary Dealer Market Makers (PDMMs) from discretionary gatekeepers to facilitators of order execution. “Price discovery is now centralised, and auction mechanics are digitised within a controlled regulatory environment,” said Mr. Tajudeen Olayinka, CEO of Wyoming Capital. By consolidating bid flows into a single window, policymakers can monitor real-time investor behaviour, while banks and investors operate within a more transparent, policy-sensitive framework.
The full adoption of S4 represents a long-term structural upgrade rather than a temporary procedural adjustment. It aligns with broader efforts to digitize and strengthen Nigeria’s capital market infrastructure. With all primary market auctions now routed through S4, the system is set to influence yield behaviour, allocation dynamics, and investor strategies across the Nigerian fixed-income market, further positioning the CBN at the center of fiscal financing and monetary policy execution.
source: nairametrics