Dancehall artiste, Shatta Wale says contrary to public perception, he does not hate Mark Okraku Mantey.

In an interview with Da Don on 'You say Wetin' on Hitz FM, he stated that when he said the Creative Arts President does not deserve to be Deputy Minister for Tourism Arts and Culture, he was shielding him from making some mistakes.

“I was not trying to be rude to Mark Okraku Mantey. He is a nice man, he likes me, he knows my character, he knows who I am, and he knows I like to free my mind."

"I respect Mark a lot and I know how he wants to help the industry. We can’t give another person the chance to mess things like the way they’re blaming Obour now,” Shatta Wale said.

His statement comes after he cautioned industry players against pushing Mark Okraku Mantey for the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture position.

The “My Level” hitmaker in a Facebook live broadcast, stated that the CEO of Slip Entertainment lacks the requisite knowledge about the industry to assist in its growth.

“We have not forced government to structure our music industry for us and so when we are there we will be hearing things like they want to take Mark Okraku Mantey as deputy minister for Tourism Arts and Culture.”

“We can’t live in an industry where we are moved by people who don’t even have the knowledge, who don’t know technology, who don’t know things about the music industry.”

He also vowed to form a “By Force Movement” political party, should the government nominate Mark for the deputy minister position.