Discount, tenor, auction and rollover — the mechanics every saver should understand.
Treasury bills are short-dated debt of the Federal Government of Nigeria. They are popular for good reasons, but their pricing confuses many first-time buyers.The core mechanic is the discount. You do not receive interest payments; instead you pay less than face value today and receive full face value at maturity. The difference is your return. If you buy a bill with a face value you choose, at a discount determined at auction, your annualised yield is implied by that gap and the tenor.
Tenor is simply how long until maturity — commonly around three months (91 days), six months (182) or one year (364). At maturity you are repaid the face value, and the decision becomes whether to reinvest. Repeatedly rolling bills over is a strategy some savers use; its risk is reinvestment risk — future yields are unknown.
Access matters too. Bills can be bought through banks and brokers at primary auction (where minimum amounts are higher) or in the secondary market (where existing bills change hands before maturity). Fees and minimums differ by channel, so ask before you commit.
What bills are not: a substitute for thinking. They suit money you may need on a known date, protect principal in nominal terms, and are exposed to inflation — if prices rise faster than your yield, your purchasing power shrinks. Our inflation calculator lets you see that erosion with your own numbers.