diff --git a/libsemanage/tests/Makefile b/libsemanage/tests/Makefile
index 9ccb5b23..fcd616fa 100644
--- a/libsemanage/tests/Makefile
+++ b/libsemanage/tests/Makefile
@@ -4,24 +4,19 @@ LIBDIR ?= $(PREFIX)/lib
 # Add your test source files here:
 SOURCES = $(sort $(wildcard *.c))
 
-# Add the required external object files here:
-LIBS = ../src/libsemanage.a -lselinux -lsepol
-
 ###########################################################################
 
 EXECUTABLE = libsemanage-tests
 CFLAGS += -g -O0 -Wall -W -Wundef -Wmissing-noreturn -Wmissing-format-attribute -Wno-unused-parameter
-INCLUDE = -I../src -I../include
-LDLIBS += -lcunit -lbz2 -laudit
+override CFLAGS += -I../src -I../include
+override LDLIBS += -lcunit -lbz2 -laudit ../src/libsemanage.a -lselinux -lsepol
+
 OBJECTS = $(SOURCES:.c=.o) 
 
 all: $(EXECUTABLE) 
 
 $(EXECUTABLE): $(OBJECTS) ../src/libsemanage.a
-	$(CC) $(OBJECTS) $(LIBS) $(LDFLAGS) -o $@ $(LDLIBS)
-
-%.o: %.c
-	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(INCLUDE) -c $*.c -o $*.o
+	$(CC) $(OBJECTS) $(LDFLAGS) -o $@ $(LDLIBS)
 
 clean distclean: 
 	rm -rf $(OBJECTS) $(EXECUTABLE)
diff --git a/libsepol/utils/Makefile b/libsepol/utils/Makefile
index 467aff27..fba1d8a0 100644
--- a/libsepol/utils/Makefile
+++ b/libsepol/utils/Makefile
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ BINDIR ?= $(PREFIX)/bin
 CFLAGS ?= -Wall -Werror
 override CFLAGS += -I../include
 override LDFLAGS += -L../src
-LDLIBS += -lsepol
+override LDLIBS += -lsepol
 
 TARGETS=$(patsubst %.c,%,$(sort $(wildcard *.c)))
 
diff --git a/mcstrans/utils/Makefile b/mcstrans/utils/Makefile
index 7e596413..e35cfc2f 100644
--- a/mcstrans/utils/Makefile
+++ b/mcstrans/utils/Makefile
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ LIBSEPOLA ?= $(LIBDIR)/libsepol.a
 
 CFLAGS ?= -Wall
 override CFLAGS += -I../src -D_GNU_SOURCE
-LDLIBS += -lselinux -lpcre
+override LDLIBS += -lselinux -lpcre
 
 TARGETS=$(patsubst %.c,%,$(sort $(wildcard *.c)))
 
diff --git a/policycoreutils/hll/pp/Makefile b/policycoreutils/hll/pp/Makefile
index 813c9c6c..82813498 100644
--- a/policycoreutils/hll/pp/Makefile
+++ b/policycoreutils/hll/pp/Makefile
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ LIBEXECDIR ?= $(PREFIX)/libexec
 HLLDIR ?= $(LIBEXECDIR)/selinux/hll
 
 CFLAGS ?= -Werror -Wall -W
-LDLIBS = -lsepol
+override LDLIBS += -lsepol
 
 PP_SRCS = $(sort $(wildcard *.c))
 PP_OBJS = $(patsubst %.c,%.o,$(PP_SRCS))
diff --git a/policycoreutils/load_policy/Makefile b/policycoreutils/load_policy/Makefile
index 256d95af..8ee1fb16 100644
--- a/policycoreutils/load_policy/Makefile
+++ b/policycoreutils/load_policy/Makefile
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ LOCALEDIR ?= /usr/share/locale
 
 CFLAGS ?= -Werror -Wall -W
 override CFLAGS += $(LDFLAGS) -DUSE_NLS -DLOCALEDIR="\"$(LOCALEDIR)\"" -DPACKAGE="\"policycoreutils\""
-LDLIBS += -lsepol -lselinux
+override LDLIBS += -lsepol -lselinux
 
 TARGETS=$(patsubst %.c,%,$(sort $(wildcard *.c)))
 
diff --git a/policycoreutils/newrole/Makefile b/policycoreutils/newrole/Makefile
index bdefbb83..196af926 100644
--- a/policycoreutils/newrole/Makefile
+++ b/policycoreutils/newrole/Makefile
@@ -23,18 +23,18 @@ VERSION = $(shell cat ../VERSION)
 CFLAGS ?= -Werror -Wall -W
 EXTRA_OBJS =
 override CFLAGS += -DVERSION=\"$(VERSION)\" -DUSE_NLS -DLOCALEDIR="\"$(LOCALEDIR)\"" -DPACKAGE="\"policycoreutils\""
-LDLIBS += -lselinux
+override LDLIBS += -lselinux
 ifeq ($(PAMH), y)
 	override CFLAGS += -DUSE_PAM
 	EXTRA_OBJS += hashtab.o
-	LDLIBS += -lpam -lpam_misc
+	override LDLIBS += -lpam -lpam_misc
 else
 	override CFLAGS += -D_XOPEN_SOURCE=500
-	LDLIBS += -lcrypt
+	override LDLIBS += -lcrypt
 endif
 ifeq ($(AUDITH), y)
 	override CFLAGS += -DUSE_AUDIT
-	LDLIBS += -laudit
+	override LDLIBS += -laudit
 endif
 ifeq ($(LSPP_PRIV),y)
 	override AUDIT_LOG_PRIV=y
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ ifeq ($(NAMESPACE_PRIV),y)
 endif
 ifeq ($(IS_SUID),y)
 	MODE := 4555
-	LDLIBS += -lcap-ng
+	override LDLIBS += -lcap-ng
 else
 	MODE := 0555
 endif
diff --git a/policycoreutils/run_init/Makefile b/policycoreutils/run_init/Makefile
index 7b259525..921f0b07 100644
--- a/policycoreutils/run_init/Makefile
+++ b/policycoreutils/run_init/Makefile
@@ -10,17 +10,17 @@ AUDITH ?= $(shell test -f /usr/include/libaudit.h && echo y)
 
 CFLAGS ?= -Werror -Wall -W
 override CFLAGS += -DUSE_NLS -DLOCALEDIR="\"$(LOCALEDIR)\"" -DPACKAGE="\"policycoreutils\""
-LDLIBS += -lselinux
+override LDLIBS += -lselinux
 ifeq ($(PAMH), y)
 	override CFLAGS += -DUSE_PAM
-	LDLIBS += -lpam -lpam_misc
+	override LDLIBS += -lpam -lpam_misc
 else
 	override CFLAGS += -D_XOPEN_SOURCE=500
-	LDLIBS += -lcrypt
+	override LDLIBS += -lcrypt
 endif
 ifeq ($(AUDITH), y)
 	override CFLAGS += -DUSE_AUDIT
-	LDLIBS += -laudit
+	override LDLIBS += -laudit
 endif
 
 TARGETS=$(patsubst %.c,%,$(sort $(wildcard *.c)))
diff --git a/policycoreutils/secon/Makefile b/policycoreutils/secon/Makefile
index 1f074ff1..8e491d74 100644
--- a/policycoreutils/secon/Makefile
+++ b/policycoreutils/secon/Makefile
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ WARNS=-Werror -W -Wall -Wundef -Wshadow -Wpointer-arith -Wbad-function-cast -Wca
 VERSION = $(shell cat ../VERSION)
 CFLAGS ?= $(WARNS) -O1
 override CFLAGS += -DVERSION=\"$(VERSION)\"
-LDLIBS = -lselinux
+override LDLIBS += -lselinux
 
 all: secon
 
diff --git a/policycoreutils/semodule/Makefile b/policycoreutils/semodule/Makefile
index 39ff6a93..fffb43ac 100644
--- a/policycoreutils/semodule/Makefile
+++ b/policycoreutils/semodule/Makefile
@@ -6,13 +6,12 @@ MANDIR = $(PREFIX)/share/man
 LIBDIR ?= $(PREFIX)/lib
 
 CFLAGS ?= -Werror -Wall -W
-LDLIBS = -lsepol -lselinux -lsemanage
+override LDLIBS += -lsepol -lselinux -lsemanage
 SEMODULE_OBJS = semodule.o
 
 all: semodule genhomedircon
 
 semodule: $(SEMODULE_OBJS)
-	$(CC) $(LDFLAGS) -o $@ $^ $(LDLIBS)
 
 genhomedircon:
 	ln -sf semodule genhomedircon
diff --git a/policycoreutils/sestatus/Makefile b/policycoreutils/sestatus/Makefile
index 8dbbc011..41ca6832 100644
--- a/policycoreutils/sestatus/Makefile
+++ b/policycoreutils/sestatus/Makefile
@@ -7,11 +7,11 @@ LIBDIR ?= $(PREFIX)/lib
 
 CFLAGS ?= -Werror -Wall -W
 override CFLAGS += -D_FILE_OFFSET_BITS=64
-LDLIBS = -lselinux
+override LDLIBS += -lselinux
 
 all: sestatus
 
-sestatus:  sestatus.o 
+sestatus: sestatus.o
 
 install: all
 	[ -d $(MANDIR)/man8 ] || mkdir -p $(MANDIR)/man8
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ install: all
 	install -m 644 sestatus.conf $(ETCDIR)
 
 clean:
-	rm -f sestatus *.o 
+	rm -f sestatus *.o
 
 indent:
 	../../scripts/Lindent $(wildcard *.[ch])
diff --git a/policycoreutils/setfiles/Makefile b/policycoreutils/setfiles/Makefile
index 4b8cd815..c08e2dd1 100644
--- a/policycoreutils/setfiles/Makefile
+++ b/policycoreutils/setfiles/Makefile
@@ -8,21 +8,21 @@ AUDITH ?= $(shell test -f /usr/include/libaudit.h && echo y)
 ABORT_ON_ERRORS=$(shell grep "^\#define ABORT_ON_ERRORS" setfiles.c | awk -S '{ print $$3 }')
 
 CFLAGS ?= -g -Werror -Wall -W
-LDLIBS = -lselinux -lsepol
+override LDLIBS += -lselinux -lsepol
 
 ifeq ($(AUDITH), y)
 	override CFLAGS += -DUSE_AUDIT
-	LDLIBS += -laudit
+	override LDLIBS += -laudit
 endif
 
 all: setfiles restorecon restorecon_xattr man
 
-setfiles:  setfiles.o restore.o
+setfiles: setfiles.o restore.o
 
 restorecon: setfiles
 	ln -sf setfiles restorecon
 
-restorecon_xattr:  restorecon_xattr.o restore.o
+restorecon_xattr: restorecon_xattr.o restore.o
 
 man:
 	@cp -af setfiles.8 setfiles.8.man
diff --git a/policycoreutils/setsebool/Makefile b/policycoreutils/setsebool/Makefile
index 32959635..bc254dab 100644
--- a/policycoreutils/setsebool/Makefile
+++ b/policycoreutils/setsebool/Makefile
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ LIBDIR ?= $(PREFIX)/lib
 BASHCOMPLETIONDIR ?= $(DESTDIR)/usr/share/bash-completion/completions
 
 CFLAGS ?= -Werror -Wall -W
-LDLIBS = -lsepol -lselinux -lsemanage
+override LDLIBS += -lsepol -lselinux -lsemanage
 SETSEBOOL_OBJS = setsebool.o
 
 BASHCOMPLETIONS=setsebool-bash-completion.sh 
diff --git a/restorecond/Makefile b/restorecond/Makefile
index b1df89f7..ada94aeb 100644
--- a/restorecond/Makefile
+++ b/restorecond/Makefile
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ else
 endif
 export PCRE_CFLAGS PCRE_LDLIBS
 
-LDLIBS += -lselinux $(PCRE_LDLIBS) $(DBUSLIB)
+override LDLIBS += -lselinux $(PCRE_LDLIBS) $(DBUSLIB)
 
 all: restorecond
 
diff --git a/sandbox/Makefile b/sandbox/Makefile
index b12fb774..05c3d658 100644
--- a/sandbox/Makefile
+++ b/sandbox/Makefile
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ MANDIR ?= $(PREFIX)/share/man
 LOCALEDIR ?= /usr/share/locale
 SHAREDIR ?= $(PREFIX)/share/sandbox
 override CFLAGS += -DPACKAGE="\"policycoreutils\"" -Wall -Werror -Wextra -W
-LDLIBS += -lselinux -lcap-ng
+override LDLIBS += -lselinux -lcap-ng
 SEUNSHARE_OBJS = seunshare.o
 
 all: sandbox seunshare sandboxX.sh start
diff --git a/secilc/Makefile b/secilc/Makefile
index 1e36c6e0..1cac53e4 100644
--- a/secilc/Makefile
+++ b/secilc/Makefile
@@ -4,8 +4,6 @@ MANDIR ?= $(PREFIX)/share/man
 LIBDIR ?= $(PREFIX)/lib
 INCLUDEDIR ?= $(PREFIX)/include
 
-LDLIBS = -lsepol
-
 SECILC = secilc
 SECILC_SRCS := secilc.c
 SECILC_OBJS := $(patsubst %.c,%.o,$(SECILC_SRCS))
@@ -21,6 +19,7 @@ XMLTO = xmlto
 CFLAGS ?= -Wall -Wshadow -Wextra -Wundef -Wmissing-format-attribute -Wcast-align -Wstrict-prototypes -Wpointer-arith -Wunused
 
 override CFLAGS += -D_GNU_SOURCE -D_FILE_OFFSET_BITS=64
+override LDLIBS += -lsepol
 
 all: $(SECILC) $(SECIL2CONF) man
 
diff --git a/semodule-utils/semodule_expand/Makefile b/semodule-utils/semodule_expand/Makefile
index 22e3579c..072f2137 100644
--- a/semodule-utils/semodule_expand/Makefile
+++ b/semodule-utils/semodule_expand/Makefile
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ LIBDIR ?= $(PREFIX)/lib
 MANDIR ?= $(PREFIX)/share/man
 
 CFLAGS ?= -Werror -Wall -W
-LDLIBS = -lsepol
+override LDLIBS += -lsepol
 
 all: semodule_expand
 
diff --git a/semodule-utils/semodule_link/Makefile b/semodule-utils/semodule_link/Makefile
index 1e4e2788..cc4687bd 100644
--- a/semodule-utils/semodule_link/Makefile
+++ b/semodule-utils/semodule_link/Makefile
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ MANDIR ?= $(PREFIX)/share/man
 LIBDIR ?= $(PREFIX)/lib
 
 CFLAGS ?= -Werror -Wall -W
-LDLIBS = -lsepol
+override LDLIBS += -lsepol
 
 all: semodule_link
 
diff --git a/semodule-utils/semodule_package/Makefile b/semodule-utils/semodule_package/Makefile
index 5b0d2cc9..96dd7c4f 100644
--- a/semodule-utils/semodule_package/Makefile
+++ b/semodule-utils/semodule_package/Makefile
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ LIBDIR ?= $(PREFIX)/lib
 MANDIR ?= $(PREFIX)/share/man
 
 CFLAGS ?= -Werror -Wall -W
-LDLIBS = -lsepol
+override LDLIBS += -lsepol
 
 all: semodule_package semodule_unpackage