Kano — The running costs of two boards of trustees set up to ensure proper expenditure of the $75 million Pfizer compensation package will gulf a whopping $4.5 million dollars (N706.5 million), the chairman of the Pfizer/Kano State Healthcare Programme Trust Fund, one of the two funds, Prof. Shehu Galadanci, has said.

Speaking in an interaction with newsmen shortly after the second meeting of the trustees, Galadanci disclosed that his committee, which is charged with supervising construction of befitting healthcare facilities in the state, has a $30 million allocation.

He said 15 percent of the amount provided for his committee will be used to cover running costs of the two trustee bodies constituted to handle the compensation package.

The 15 percent, which stands at $4.5 million, will be used to provide temporary office accommodation for the two bodies.

Galadanci stated that members of the committees who reside outside the state will have their accommodation provided whenever they attend meetings.

Other expenses include "accommodation and transport for those coming from outside Kano and a number of incidental expenses," the chairman said. "Certainly, we need an office for meetings. We need also to appoint a number of consultants and others who will help us provide this projects."

Galadanci explained that the funds for the committee "were given as agreed by Pfizer and Kano State government. The committee will supervise building a comprehensive healthcare centre, which includes centre for disease control, public health laboratory and diagnostics centre, and resident staff quarters.

"Hopefully, all these different projects will be constructed in one place, which means there will be a kind of health centre, which will provide all these projects."

He said talks are on at the level of the committee on where to locate the proposed centres, saying immediately the location is secured, work will begin in earnest. Galadanci stated that the board hopes to complete its assignment by January 2011.

It would be recalled that the US pharmaceautical giant, Pfizer Inc., has agreed to release $75 million as out of court settlement compensation for victims of the 1996 Trovan drugs test in Kano.