A global investor call was due to take place on Friday at 1245 GMT, a notice seen by Reuters on Thursday showed. Another call will follow next Monday, Nigeria's Debt Management Office (DMO) said.

The DMO said the meetings will precede pricing for the bond to raise up to $3 billion but not more than $6.2 billion.

Nigeria's finance minister said last month that the country would launch its planned Eurobond issue on Oct. 11 and would hold roadshows in Lagos and New York.

The Eurobonds are aimed at raising funds for external borrowing of 2.343 trillion naira earmarked in the 2021 spending plan to partly finance the government's deficit of 5.6 trillion naira.

Nigeria had planned a Eurobond issue early last year, but it decided to defer the 2020 sale due to COVID-19 disruptions.

On Wednesday, top tier Nigerian lender Access Bank priced a $500 million Eurobond after a series of investor meetings.

The West African country picked JPMorgan, Citigroup, Standard Chartered and Goldman Sachs as international bookrunners and local firm Chapel Hill Denham on the forthcoming Eurobond issue.

Africa's largest economy contracted in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, though in the fourth quarter it managed to exit its recession, the second since 2016, and growth has now increased for three consecutive quarters to June 30.

The economy expanded by 5% in the second quarter of this year.

(Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Jon Boyle and Steve Orlofsky)

By Libby George and Chijioke Ohuocha