The Anambra State Government, on Sunday, said it would take necessary action to address the fight and alleged “strangulation” that occured between the Permanent Secretary of the state Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Mrs Chinwe Achugbu and one of the Heads of Department, a female, in the ministry, whose identity had yet to be ascertained.
Achugbu was one of the new permanent secretaries recently appointed by the state governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo.
Our correspondent gathered on Sunday that the fight between the duo reportedly happened on Thursday, August 15, in the office during an argument over a yet-to-be-disclosed matter which led to one of them strangling the other person to a coma.
Although the cause of the fight had not been fully ascertained, reports have it that it took the intervention of some persons around the ministry who separated the two persons before normalcy returned to the ministry.
A reliable source in the ministry, who craved anonymity, disclosed the development to journalists, on Friday, alleging that the permanent secretary inflicted severe injuries on the HOD, to the extent that she was immediately rushed to the Emergency Ward of the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital Amaku-Awka, before she was resuscitated.
PUNCH Metro further gathered that physical assaults had become a recurring act among top staff members in the ministry while subordinates were afraid of reporting the excesses for fear of being victimised.
The source said, “Yes, the incident happened. Everything in that story happened. I was there that day and everything happened before my face. The two of them fought over a yet-to-be-disclosed matter and the PS tried to strangle the HOD, as she held her neck for several minutes.Punch
