This article discusses the implementation of local level education data-driven planning as implemented by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on the Millennium Development Goals (OSSAP-MDGs) in partnership with The Earth Institute, Columbia University. It focuses on the design and implementation of the Conditional Grants Scheme-Local Government Areas (CGS-LGA). CGS-LGA is an active federal policy programme in Nigeria aimed at transforming education policy into practice by providing technology and training to local, decision-makers to create local level plans based on data and then identifying the funding gaps for implementation of the plans. This article discusses the importance of the use of data in planning and in substantiating grant applications, as well as how CGS-LGA was introduced into Nigeria, and lessons learnt from the introduction of the program. A literature review provides information on the development of data-driven planning, and important components of such planning: development of data systems, importance of information to reform education practices, linking information through data to build accountability, and data-driven decision-making.