diff --git a/meta/classes-recipe/image.bbclass b/meta/classes-recipe/image.bbclass
index 7231fad940..6bdddc0134 100644
--- a/meta/classes-recipe/image.bbclass
+++ b/meta/classes-recipe/image.bbclass
@@ -609,7 +609,7 @@ python create_symlinks() {
             bb.note("Skipping symlink, source does not exist: %s -> %s" % (dst, src))
 }
 
-MULTILIBRE_ALLOW_REP =. "${base_bindir}|${base_sbindir}|${bindir}|${sbindir}|${libexecdir}|${sysconfdir}|${nonarch_base_libdir}/udev|/lib/modules/[^/]*/modules.*|"
+MULTILIBRE_ALLOW_REP += "${base_bindir} ${base_sbindir} ${bindir} ${sbindir} ${libexecdir} ${sysconfdir} ${nonarch_base_libdir}/udev /lib/modules/[^/]*/modules.*"
 MULTILIB_CHECK_FILE = "${WORKDIR}/multilib_check.py"
 MULTILIB_TEMP_ROOTFS = "${WORKDIR}/multilib"
 
diff --git a/meta/classes-recipe/rootfs_ipk.bbclass b/meta/classes-recipe/rootfs_ipk.bbclass
index a48ad07dfc..87fff53a58 100644
--- a/meta/classes-recipe/rootfs_ipk.bbclass
+++ b/meta/classes-recipe/rootfs_ipk.bbclass
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ OPKG_POSTPROCESS_COMMANDS = ""
 
 OPKGLIBDIR ??= "${localstatedir}/lib"
 
-MULTILIBRE_ALLOW_REP = "${OPKGLIBDIR}/opkg|/usr/lib/opkg"
+MULTILIBRE_ALLOW_REP += "${OPKGLIBDIR}/opkg /usr/lib/opkg"
 
 python () {
 
diff --git a/meta/lib/oe/package_manager/ipk/rootfs.py b/meta/lib/oe/package_manager/ipk/rootfs.py
index 1f74f7e39a..ba93eb62ea 100644
--- a/meta/lib/oe/package_manager/ipk/rootfs.py
+++ b/meta/lib/oe/package_manager/ipk/rootfs.py
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ class PkgRootfs(DpkgOpkgRootfs):
     """
     def _multilib_sanity_test(self, dirs):
 
-        allow_replace = self.d.getVar("MULTILIBRE_ALLOW_REP")
+        allow_replace = "|".join((self.d.getVar("MULTILIBRE_ALLOW_REP") or "").split())
         if allow_replace is None:
             allow_replace = ""