Nigeria, April 15 -- Nigeria suffered an extensive power outage in recent weeks because 18 plants accounting for most of the electricity the country generates had faced operational problems, the government has said.

The Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, revealed the cause of the blackouts only on Thursday, weeks after many Nigerians had complained of persistent outages.

Mr Mamman said eight plants suffered a "breakdown" while one underwent an annual maintenance.

Seven other integrated power plants were experiencing gas constraints while one hydroelectric power plant has water management issue, he said.

"I sincerely regret the recent Power outages across the Nation and the difficulties it has brought with it. The problem is caused by th...