Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo’s administration in Anambra State has said it will take take necessary action following an alleged fight between Mrs. Chinwe Achugbu, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare, and an unidentified female Head of Department (HOD) within the same ministry.
Achugbu is one of the new permanent secretaries appointed in March 2024 by the state Governor, Chukwuma Soludo.
The fight between the duo reportedly happened at work on Thursday, August 15, during an argument over a yet-to-be-disclosed issue.
During the fight, Mrs Chigbu is alleged to have strangled Mrs Nkem, which warranted her to fall into coma.
The injured HOD was immediately rushed to the Emergency Ward of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital Amaku-Awka, where she was later revived.
Though, sources allege that physical assault among staff in the ministry has become a frequent occurrence.
Meanwhile, the Head of Service, Theodora Igwegbe, told Punch that she was aware of a reported fight at the ministry through social media but had yet to officially be briefed on what happened.
Igwegbe vowed to take action after an investigation and findings had been concluded on the matter.
She said, “I saw the report on social media on Friday, August 23, 2024. I have not received a formal report against the Permanent Secretary in question as provided by Section 7, Chapter 10 of the Public Service Rules (2021).
“That notwithstanding, I have started asking questions to ascertain what happened while I await a formal report, which should be the beginning of a process”.