questioned about his acceptance of this position, he said he was "brought up in my own part of the world to act well our part wherever we may find ourselves." He held the chairmanship until his death. Awoniyi opposed the Third Term Agenda proposed by supporters of President Olusegun Obasanjo in favor of his re-election, and was attacked at his Abuja house on March 12, 2006 during the debate. In April 2006, he wrote an open letter to Obasanjo, saying "I beg of you, for your own good and for our country's good, make a simple announcement to say that you are not interested in a Third Term and that you plan to go back to Otta in 2007." Death On November 18, 2007, while being driven from Abuja to Kaduna, Awoniyi's car flipped over. He was taken to the National Hospital in Abuja and then flown to London, where he died on November 28. On December 11, 2007, a one-minute silence honoring him was observed in the Senate. His funeral was held at Mopa on December 15, 2007, and was attended by former Presidents Yakubu Gowon, Ibrahim Babangida, and Abdulsalami Abubakar, and Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, who represented President Umaru Yar'Adua. References External links Yoruba politicians Nigerian Baptists Kogi State politicians Ahmadu Bello University alumni Members of the Senate (Nigeria) 1932 births 2007 deaths Peoples Democratic Party (Nigeria) politicians National Republican Convention politicians 20th-century Baptists