Ubuntu 20.04: uninstalling chromium snap via apt fails

$ LC_ALL=C apt purge chromium-browser-l10n chromium-browser
...
dpkg: error processing package chromium-browser (--remove):
 package is in a very bad inconsistent state; you should
 reinstall it before attempting a removal
dpkg: too many errors, stopping
Errors were encountered while processing:
 chromium-browser
Processing was halted because there were too many errors.