package wget 1.17.1-1ubuntu1.4 failed to install/upgrade: package is in a very bad inconsistent state; you should reinstall it before attempting configuration

ubuntu 16.04 LTS

ProblemType: Package
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 16.04
Package: wget 1.17.1-1ubuntu1.4
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.13.0-41.46~16.04.1-generic 4.13.16
Uname: Linux 4.13.0-41-generic i686
ApportVersion: 2.20.1-0ubuntu2.17
Architecture: i386
Date: Tue May 15 16:30:06 2018
DuplicateSignature:
 package:wget:1.17.1-1ubuntu1.4
 Processing triggers for doc-base (0.10.7) ...
 Processing 1 changed doc-base file...
 dpkg: error processing package wget (--configure):
  package is in a very bad inconsistent state; you should
ErrorMessage: package is in a very bad inconsistent state; you should reinstall it before attempting configuration
InstallationDate: Installed on 2018-02-26 (77 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 16.04.3 LTS "Xenial Xerus" - Release i386 (20170801)
RelatedPackageVersions:
 dpkg 1.18.4ubuntu1.4
 apt 1.2.26
SourcePackage: wget
Title: package wget 1.17.1-1ubuntu1.4 failed to install/upgrade: package is in a very bad inconsistent state; you should reinstall it before attempting configuration
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)