By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Debt Management Office (DMO) has opened a subscription for its monthly FGN savings bonds for April 2023 targeted at low-income earners in the country.
A notice from the debt office disclosed that the retail bonds could be purchased from registered brokerage companies in the country with as low as N5,000 from Monday, April 3, 2023, to Friday, April 7, 2023.
Like in the previous exercises, the debt instrument would be issued in two maturities of 2 years and 3 years.
The 2-year FGN savings bond, due on April 12, 2025, comes with a coupon rate of 10.03 per cent, while the 3-year FGN savings bond due on April 12, 2026, is offered at 11.03 per cent.
As earlier stated, the minimum a subscriber can buy is N5,000, and the maximum is N50 million, while the interest would be paid to investors four times a year.
The FGN savings bond is a tax-free debt instrument of the fixed-income market as it qualifies as government securities within the meaning of the Company Income Tax Act (CITA) and Personal Income Tax Act (PITA) for tax exemption for pension funds, amongst other investors.
The paper also qualifies as securities in which trustees can invest under the Trustee Investment Act and can be used as a liquid asset for liquidity ratio calculation for banks.
After the sale of the notes, the DMO lists the bonds on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited to allow those who purchase the instrument to sell before maturity.
Dipo Olowookere 
Modupe Gbadeyanka