Former Ningo-Prampram Member of Parliament Enoch Teye Mensah has thrown in a bid yet again to contest Friday’s Council of State elections in the Greater Accra Region.

According to the former Youth and Sports Minister, this is the right time “to offer myself to the service of the nation through our dear president of the Republic of Ghana”.

E. T. Mensah, as he is affectionately called, made the disclosure to Media General’s Evelyn Tengmaa in an interview on Wednesday, February 10.

It will be the second time the founder member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is offering himself up to be elected as a member of the Council of State.

In 2017, he had to withdraw his bid despite the headlines it generated due to his affiliation with the country’s major opposition party.

He said the time was simply not up for him then.

“Optimism is my watchword,” he noted, “whatever I do I am optimistic about the outcome.”

“That is why I didn’t jump in the last time. I studied the situation and I studied the atmosphere. Even though my supporters were urging me, I surprised them. That’s why I dropped my resignation.

“This time around they can be sure that I will be in throughout to the end and I believe that by the grace of the almighty I will prevail.”

Until 2017, ET Mensah had served in each of the six Parliaments of the Fourth Republic. He was ousted in the NDC primaries the preceding year by Sam George Nartey, who has since been reelected.

ET Mensah believes this is an opportune time to make his services available to the nation in a different capacity.

“My persuasion is that we must work hard at any level that we can to support the leadership of the nation to achieve the set objectives and at the end of the day, [Ghana] will be richer.”

On whether his affiliation with the NDC could work against him, he said the composition of the Council is without recourse to political parties.

It is about the experience, he reiterated.