Iraqi economist suspends media work after parliament dispute over staff figures

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraqi economist Nipil al-Marsumi announced on Friday that he is stepping back from media work after the Iraqi Parliament publicly disputed his figures on staffing and salaries. In a statement on his social media account, al-Marsumi said the documents he had shared reflected the truth but acknowledged that proving them required significant effort, adding that he was suspending his writing for a period of time. The dispute centers on numbers al-Marsumi had circulated about parliamentary personnel. The parliament's press office had said the figures — including a reported 12,500 employees and an average salary of 3.5 million dinars per person — were inaccurate, and that the actual number of staff was less than a quarter of what he claimed. In response, al-Marsumi released detailed data on actual spending for 2025, putting personnel compensation at 551.202 billion dinars and total expenditure at 618.253 billion dinars. He said the number of employees stood at 12,480, with an average salary of 3.6 million dinars — roughly 12 times the minimum wage. Al-Marsumi added that the conflict with parliament had not ended, and warned that similar episodes could repeat as long as authorities retain what he described as a deterrent capacity. No further statement was immediately available from the parliament.