diff --git a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/nftables/default.nix b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/nftables/default.nix
index c60be5f264bd..2e8c760fa504 100644
--- a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/nftables/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/nftables/default.nix
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   ++ lib.optional withCli libedit
   ++ lib.optional withXtables iptables;
 
-  env.NIX_LDFLAGS = if stdenv.hostPlatform.isStatic then "-lncursesw" else null;
+  env.NIX_LDFLAGS = lib.optionalString stdenv.hostPlatform.isStatic "-lncursesw";
 
   configureFlags = [
     "--with-json"