Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised more money from a sale of treasury bills than originally planned at an auction this week after it priced its one-year debt to yield more than inflation, in a bid to support the currency.
The CBN raised 230.60 billion naira ($733 million) at an auction on Wednesday, 80.60 billion naira more than it originally planned to sell, data showed on Friday.
Treasury bill sales support the currency by draining some of the naira in the market, thereby making the naira slightly stronger against the dollar.
The central bank has been intervening since February to prop up the naira after introducing a complex, multi-tiered exchange rate system.
It has sold more than $4 billion on the spot and forward currency markets and has been attracting investors in recent months to its one-year debt with high yields.
The bank offered the one-year debt with a yield of 18.81 percent, higher than the March inflation rate of 17.26 percent, to raise 178.60 billion naira.
The note was sold at 18.98 percent previously.
It sold six-month bills at 17.26 and a three-month debt at 13.6 percent to fetch a total of 52.57 billion naira.
The central bank issues treasury bills twice a month to help the government fund its budget deficit and to help it control inflation.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
