The Debt Management Office (DMO) has announced that the N300 billion Series VII Sovereign Sukuk it offered earlier this month has recorded an overwhelming subscription of N2.205 trillion, representing an excess of 735 per cent.

The DMO, which announced this in a statement posted on its official website on Wednesday, said the massive interest shown in the Sukuk issuance is clear evidence of the growing investor appetite for the non-interest, ethical investment instrument, which was first introduced in 2017.

The borrowing instrument was introduced as an innovative financing tool to broaden the nation’s investor base and encourage wider public participation in the capital market.

The N300 billion 7-year Ijarah Sukuk bond was meant to fund critical road and bridge infrastructure across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.

The DMO said, “It is clear evidence of investor appetite for the ethical instrument we introduced in 2017 as an innovative strategy to expand the nation’s investor base and provide opportunities for all Nigerians to participate in the activities of the capital market.”

It noted that analysis of the subscriptions showed that the subscribers cut across various segments of the public: retail, non-interest banks and financial institutions, banks, pension fund administrators, asset/fund managers, and others.

“Like the previous series, funds realized from the issuance will be used by the Federal Government to construct new roads and rehabilitate existing ones as well as build bridges in the six geopolitical zones of the country and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT),” DMO stated.

The DMO said the successful outing aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, under which infrastructure development is a key priority for driving economic growth and national development.

Reiterating its commitment to offering safe and liquid investment options to Nigerians, the DMO pledged continued support for the Federal Government’s development objectives through sustainable and inclusive financing mechanisms like Sukuk.

Between 2017 and December 2023, the government has raised over N1.09 trillion from six series of Sukuk, and this was invested in the construction or rehabilitation of roads across the country.