The on-going industrial action embarked upon by Imo State civil servants has been described as an act of sabotage intended to blackmail and destabilise the administration of Chief Achike Udenwa.

This observation was made by the Imo Leadership Forum (ILF), in a statement by the group's president, Mr. Magnus Nwiwu.

Nwiwu said the recent vandalisation of the National Electric Power Authority (NE-PA) installation in Owerri, was another act of sabotage that had thrown the state capital into darkness.

Nwiwu said "in the absence of electricity, many other activities have been paralysed. There is no water and people are forced to roam the streets in search of water."

The forum said the civil servants allowed themselves to be used by disgruntled politicians, saying "the strike is uncalled for, by the time they went on strike, they were being owed two months salary."

It asked: "Why would civil servants, who did not go on strike when they were being owed four months salary, proceed on strike only when they are being owed two months?"

ILF expressed disappointment at the spate of political assassinations in the state.

It said that it was happy that the state government had taken urgent steps, through the police, to ensure that the perpetrators of the dastardly act be brought to book.